There haven’t been very many bright spots for the Atlanta Hawks this season. They’ve dealt with injuries, COVID sending the entire roster into health and safety protocols at one point or another, and poor play when they have been healthy. At 19-25, they are three games behind their pace from last season.
With back-to-back wins for the first time since late November, there is optimism that another turnaround is on the way.
In the meantime, fans have been able to enjoy watching Trae Young.
Keeping up with that theme, it was announced by the NBA and the Player’s Union that Young’s jersey currently ranks eighth in sales on NBAstore.com. It is his highest ranking yet in his four-year career.
Trae Young’s historic season for the Atlanta Hawks is showing up in his jersey sales
Young lands in between Ja Morant and Klay Thompson. To put that into context, Morant’s Grizzlies have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA this season, currently sitting third in the Western Conference while the third-year point guard has garnered some preliminary MVP love in NBA circles.
Thompson returned to the floor this season after two years of dealing with injuries.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are toiling away trying to get back into contention for the play-in currently ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference with a tough matchup with the Miami Heat on Friday.
It hasn’t dimmed Young’s star. He’s averaging 27.9 points, 9.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 45.6 from the floor and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc this season. The list of people who have done the same is quite short but it is worth mentioning, so here it is:
Trae Young. That’s it, that’s all.
"We've got to just keep doing what we're doing ... and not look too far ahead." pic.twitter.com/5e2B8f29jt
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) January 20, 2022
The assists and efficiency are career-highs along with his 90.7 percent mark at the free-throw line and 52.3 percent effective field goal percentage. Much has been made of Young’s defense in his career and still as the team has struggled on this end this season. But his impact on offense is undeniable.
He’s fresh off of his 23-point third quarter keying the Hawks second win in a row and is second among guards in All-Star voting (behind only DeMar DeRozan who is a forward).
If the Hawks are going to get the ship righted, there aren’t many better to help lead them. That’s why there has been so much made about trades to surround him with support. Management knows they have something, or rather someone, very special on their hands.
The public obviously agrees.
And with the drive and work ethic Young has shown to this point, it’s hard to even fathom how high his ceiling really is.