Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young has been an incredible force in the NBA all season. He has led the Hawks in scoring and assists, being a true offensive juggernaut for the team. Unfortunately, the superstar is still being disrespected this season, despite some of the performances he has put in.
NBA reporter Michael C. Wright released his most recent MVP ladder and he ranked Young as the seventh-highest contender for the NBA’s most prestigious individual honor. This is up from ninth when the last ladder was published.
There is a good reason for this given that Young has been absolutely incredible of late especially over the last five games. For the season he is fifth in the NBA in scoring and he is third in the NBA in assists, two areas where he has always been near the top of the league throughout his career.
Trae Young is giving the Atlanta Hawks historic numbers.
After the Brooklyn Nets game, Young became the first-ever Hawks player to record five consecutive games of more than 25 points and 10 assists. The last player to do this was Russell Westbrook in the 2017 season per Hawks PR.
This is also the longest streak of points/assists double-doubles in the league this season and the third time in Young’s career that he has achieved such a streak. This is truly an incredible feat given that he is the focal point of the opposition’s defense every night.
The only reason that Young is not further up the MVP ladder is that the Hawks have not been winning as much as the other teams. However, the MVP award should not be based on where your team ends up, it is whether you are the most valuable player to your team.
Young has shown over and over again that this team needs him to perform if they are going to succeed. When he has a positive influence on the box score, the Hawks are 12-1. When he has zero or a negative impact the Hawks are 1-11 which is pretty compelling evidence as to his worth to the team.