The Atlanta Hawks trailed by as many as 20 points in their matchup against the Chicago Bulls. But at the final tally, it was the Hawks who were 141-133 victors, and they did it with a 50-point, fourth-quarter effort keyed by Trae Young.
Young scored 16 of his 27 points in the final frame, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
Young also surpassed 11,000 points for his career in the contest.
Fittingly, the shot that took him past the threshold was a stepback three that came in the third quarter with under seven minutes on the clock. Young took to social media to express his appreciation for the gravity of this accomplishment and those who helped him reach it.
“Nobody whose come as far as I have can say they did it alone… truly blessed!” Young posted on X on December 26.
“11k for 11.”
The bucket that got him there 🧊
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 27, 2024
Vote Trae for All Star ⭐️ https://t.co/044xbRzag2 pic.twitter.com/pzBxQfZzjK
Young has always shown an appreciation for the history of the game and those who have come before him, paving the way. In his seventh NBA season and 26 years old, Young has already left and indelible mark on the league.
Trae Young touts teammates for year-end awards
Young was asked about rookie No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, who was quite animated over a foul called on him while defending Bulls guard Coby White on what looked to be a clean block.
“Zacch's been playing unbelievable. The more we continue to win, the more he continues to play like this, the more those Rookie of the Year talks will start going in his favor. Because it used to be the teams that win more get those types of awards. So I hope we continue to win and push Zacch into that Rookie of the Year conversation. If he plays like this, he's going to have that. That energy he had tonight, being upset with certain calls, that just shows how much you care about the game,” Young told reporters after the game.
“I always love it when guys show passion and that just shows they care.”
Risacher finished with 16 points and connected on three of his seven looks from downtown. It was just his second double-digit scoring performance in the Hawks’ last six outings. But the rookie contributes in other ways that do not show up in the box score too.
Still, he ranks sixth among all rookies in PPG and figures to face an uphill climb to enter the ROTY conversation, though there is a long way to go in the season.
Young’s other award push, for De’Andre Hunter, could have more legs.
“We knew in the huddle that it was going to be a clear path, and it was about two minutes and things like that. So we had a good play. Quin [Snyder] drew up a great play for us out of the timeout, and I don't even know. I think we just kind of played off of it. I think they took it away, the initial action, and I think Dre got the three, if i'm not mistaken, right?” Young said, explaining how the call was a turning point for the team.
“That was a big shot. We need those. We need big moments from certain guys, and Dre has been doing great for us. And that's Sixth Man of the Year right there too. So we got a couple of guys that can win some awards if we keep winning.”
Hunter leads all bench scorers at 20.6 PPG. He and Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics are the only reserves averaging 28-plus minutes with at least 18 appearances in that role this year.
Pritchard is averaging 15.3 PPG, for further context.
The caveat for Hunter is more about health. He has a history of injuries and has already missed 11 games this season. Hunter can only miss six more games (out of 51) and still qualify for a year-end award under league rules.
If he makes it, assuming the maximum allowed absences, Hunter would finish with 65 appearances.
That would be his second most ever and his third time with at least 60 appearances.