Hawks 2024-25 player profile: Trae Young looking to recapture top form

With training camp rapidly approaching, Soaring Down South will be rolling out player profiles for every standard contract on the roster.

In it, we will recap the 2023-24 season including stats and notable feats, reasons for optimism and pessimism, and a projection for the 2024-24 season. First up is none other than three-time All-Star Trae Young.

Still the face of the franchise, the Hawks need Young to return to form in 2024-25.

Trae Young 2024-25 player profile: Hawks need star to stay healthy

2023-24 stats: 

25.7 PPG/10.8 APG/2.8 RPG/1.3 SPG – .430/.373/.855

2024-25 projection: 27.0 PPG/11.0 APG/3.8 RPG/1.4 SPG – .445/.370/.880

Young earned his third All-Star appearance in 2023-24, but the season ended on a sour note, undercut by his finger injury that cost him 23 games. He still finished with at least 25 PPG and 10 APG for the second year in a row.

Young has toyed with the idea of averaging at least 11.0 assists, a feat that could be possible with the ball expected to be in his hands more in 2024-25.

Young’s projected line is fairly close to his stats before the trade for Dejounte Murray trade.

The Hawks star boasted a 34.2% usage rate in the three seasons before the Hawks acquired Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, per Basketball Reference. That number dipped to 31.7% in his two seasons alongside Murray.

Young might not reach his pre-Murray usage in 2024-25.

New-look Hawks set to benefit from typically durable Trae Young

The Hawks have Jalen Johnson primed to take another step while a player like Dyson Daniels – a key piece of the Murray trade return – is most effective with the ball in his hands.

Young’s steals in 2023-24 were a career-high. But the small sample size skews a lot of his numbers from last season. Fortunately for the Hawks and Young, durability has not been the issue to the extent that it was last year in his career.

His 54 appearances in 2023-24 were a career low. 

He averaged 70-plus appearances over his first five seasons, surpassing 70 games four times and twice surpassing the 80-game mark.

His previous career-low came in 2019-20 when he appeared in 60 games during the COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season that had just 67 games total. He missed just nine games during the 2020-21 campaign in which there were 72 games.

Young had appeared in 353 of a possible 370 games before the 2023-24 season, a remarkable number for a player whose size and long-term durability are often questioned.

Young has said he is eager to prove the Hawks’ doubters wrong this season.

That additional motivation plus the increased opportunities with Murray out of the picture should lead to a “resurgence” for Young, who still put up incredible numbers despite a down season in terms of durability.