After a stressful three days for Hawks fans, Trae Young’s knee injury was revealed to be an MCL sprain. While the news may be upsetting at first glance, this is perhaps the best outcome possible.
Young attempted to stay in the game after suffering the injury, but walked off the floor in pain after trying to jog down the floor in the first possession following the injury. The Hawks said Young would receive an MRI on Thursday morning to determine the extent of the damage, but the news would not be revealed for another three days.
The delayed announcement, paired with a particularly ominous tweet from Young, had Hawks fans in despair. With limited information and a question-inducing series of events, fans thought the worst-case scenario had occurred: a torn knee ligament.
Instead, Young will be reevaluated in four weeks, or just under 15 games. Note that reevaluate does not mean return; Young will likely miss more than four weeks, given the track record for MCL sprains.
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young sustained a sprained MCL in his right knee and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, sources tell ESPN. Young underwent an MRI on Friday and multiple doctor reviews that showed he dodged major structural damage in the knee. pic.twitter.com/pgvImRrnOF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 1, 2025
Young and the Hawks’ near miss must wake the team up
Even with Young on the floor, Atlanta has not lived up to the expectations placed upon the club. While the lack of roster continuity can explain some of the malaise, there were clearly on-court problems the team had to face.
Without Young’s generational output as an offensive engine, however, the Hawks will have to win games through less conventional means. All of the weaknesses that have plagued Atlanta’s season – defense, effort, rebounding, and non-Trae passing – will have to be the way the team wins moving forward.
Perhaps the biggest question moving forward, however, is the Hawks’ point guard rotation. The team opted not to sign a backup one behind Young, instead hoping that a combination of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Luke Kennard, and Keaton Wallace could provide enough offensive juice when Young sits.
While this could be a viable strategy in the 10 to 15 minutes a night Young sits, it probably won’t hold up over a full 48-minute game against solid competition. The Hawks will have to scour the free agent market to find a replacement, at least for the next few months.
Luckily, the Hawks have one roster spot remaining. This gives the team the option to sign a player without having to make any difficult decisions. Perhaps this player could even stay on the roster moving forward and serve as a veteran presence or an option for Quin Snyder to lean on when the offense needs direction.