Listening to Trae Young speak during Atlanta Hawks media day, his optimism about a group many on the outside doubt comes across clearly.
Young has also espoused that optimism prior to media day, but his comments on the day stamped it. And the three-time All-Star was not done, taking to social media after his availability to put in no uncertain terms how he is feeling about the upcoming season. In short, Young is locked in.
“Chapter 7,” Young posted on X on September 30. “More ready than ever.”
Chapter 7.
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) September 30, 2024
More ready than ever🙏🏽💯 pic.twitter.com/5wXPbSVZbF
“My goal every year is to win,” Young told reporters on September 30. “I don't play basketball to just play. My goal is to win. Every night I step out there I feel like we can win. So, yeah like I want to be better than where we were last year. We weren't in the playoffs. We need to be back in the playoffs this year. So regardless of how anybody looks at our team, I feel like we need to be there.
“It's my job to do everything I can to to be ready and also lift my teammates up as much as I can to make sure we're all ready each and every night so no that's that's the goal every year.”
Young’s excitement about the season borders on defiance, with the guard eager to disprove some preconceived notions about the team’s outlook this coming season. Some projections have the Hawks maxing out as a back-end Play-In Tournament team.
“I want to get back to where I've been,” Young said on the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast episode that aired on September 8. “A lot of people look at our roster and don't have a lot of high expectations, so that's sometimes good for a player like me who's been built on beating expectations his whole life. So I'm just ready to play and beat expectations and whatever that ends up being, I'm going to be ready for it and excited for it.”
Young’s numbers should return to their typical perches this season.
The ball is expected to be in his hands a lot more, even if his usage does not quite reach the same heights it once did. But he has taken another step that has management excited.
Hawks GM Landry Fields expects big things for Trae Young
Young’s future with the Hawks was a source of intrigue this offseason amid speculation that the organization would have traded him if the proper return came along. However, Young has not wavered from his desire to remain in Atlanta.
The Hawks’ moves have also clearly been geared to insulate him defensively.
Most importantly, Young is doing his part to make it work, building chemistry with his teammates off the court before they step on it together.
“I'm really thrilled with Trae this offseason and the steps that he has taken in his leadership and things that he's been working on, and the level of partnership that we have with him. And I'm excited for him. I think that this year for him is going to be one of his best, and I don't even mean that from a statistical standpoint. He's a fantastic player. The stats are going to be what they are because of who he is and the skill level that he has. But when I mean “best,” I mean, exactly what … we've seen,” Fields said.
“Watching him take those steps and practice those, I couldn't be more thrill for them. We're real excited, I'm really excited for him and how he's going to impact our group this year, we're looking forward to it.”
For Young, it was a conscious effort.
“I … always been pretty good at leading by example,” Young said on media day. “Vocally is something, growing up it has always been tough for me. But I've gotten better and better each year, and it's year seven now. We have a mixture of some vets. But we have a lot of young guys too that we can give a lot of knowledge to and I can give a lot of knowledge to. So for me, it's just about being vocal and speaking up more.”