Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young has made an extremely strong case for his first-ever ALL-NBA selection. Not only will this increase his pay packet significantly, but it will also give him the recognition that he deserves. Hopefully, this will lead to more recognition down the track which will allow Young to represent his country which is what he wanted to do in the last Olympics.
After the way that Young performed in the playoffs last season, the narrative appears to be changing around the fourth-year point guard. His 2021-22 season has been one for the books and thanks to the play-in tournament, we get to see playoff Trae again.
Young started the season in ninth place on the Hawks’ all-time 3-pointers made with 497. Then Young made Hawks history but connecting on 233 of his attempts from beyond the arc. This is a season record, beating Mookie Blaylock’s 231 which he set back in 1996. Young ended the season with 730 made, which has him fourth all-time for the Hawks.
The Atlanta Hawks have benefitted from Trae Young’s shooting.
Absolutely everything that Young does on the offensive end is to help his team. The fact that he hit the most 3-point shots in the history of the franchise meant that he was spacing the floor for the rest of the team. His play meant that defenses had to pick him up, usually with a double team.
This meant that there was a player open on the floor and usually the Hawks’ point guard was able to find them. He showed last season that he would find John Collins and Clint Capela in the restricted area. However, he also found players like Kevin Huerter open on the 3-point line.
Huerter moved up the all-time list as well, getting to sixth with 563 3-point attempts made. His play, as well as others like Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic, have made the Hawks one of the most dangerous teams when they are on from behind the arc. Let us hope that they can keep this up for the play-in tournament and then throughout the playoffs.