Atlanta Hawks superstar point guard Trae Young has already made quite a name for himself in the NBA in just three short years. He was the only player to average at least 25 points and nine assists last season and then went on to average 28.8 points and 9.5 assists as he led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals.
What’s more, the Hawks were just two games from reaching their first NBA Finals since the team moved to Atlanta.
Now, a few months after signing an extension worth up to $207 million over the next five years, Young has embraced his “villain” persona to pay homage (and throw some shade) once again, this time for the NBA.
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young pays homage to Pacers legend and HoFer Reggie Miller
The NBA is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season and the promo for it has been deliciously over the top. It all began with a commercial in which actor Michael B. Jordan drove a bus around “NBA Lane”, a make-believe neighborhood inhabited by NBA stars of past and present including Young dumping out, you guessed it, a bag of ice.
In this latest promotional video, numerous stars take turns re-creating iconic scenes of yesteryear, often in ways that crossed over with their own signature moments.
Kevin Durant as George Gervin, Rudy Gobert as Bill Russell, LaMelo Ball as Magic Johnson, and many more.
Young, who is the first player seen in the video, recreated his bow at Madison Square Garden from this past postseason when the Hawks eliminated the New York Knicks in five games. The video shows Young speaking of Miller being a “killer” on the court and includes the Hall of Famer’s famous tit-for-tats with Knicks superfan Spike Lee.
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At one point during Young’s scene (which begins at the 2:31 mark) there is a cut of Miller taking a bow in 1994 against the Chicago Bulls into Youngs on the floor of MSG after the grueling series.
The difference, of course, is Miller’s gamesmanship was a bit premature as the Bulls came back to win that game on a Toni Kukoc three-pointer. Young, who had already told the crowd how quiet they were as his Hawks were winning, stood center court after averaging 29.2 points and 9.8 assists while, most importantly, taking the series.
Miller was on the call for that game.
Young has also dropped a signature shoe and made an appearance on WWE’s Smackdown (in MSG) among other things in what has been an eventful summer.
He will be back in his customary Hawks jersey soon enough as Atlanta opens the regular season on the road, facing Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.