Trae Young: The Most Disrespected Player In The NBA
Since his rookie season, Trae Young has been a walking highlight reel. From 40-foot bombs to nasty ankle-breakers, Trae has created quite a mixtape for himself. He's also been one of the best offensive creators in the league in his last few seasons. While his defense is sub-par, the Atlanta Hawks superstar has not received enough credit for his play in the NBA. He's constantly left off or barely making Top 10 PG lists and has been snubbed of All-Star appearances multiple times already.
Historic Numbers
In the 2022/23 NBA Season, Trae Young became just the sixth player in history to average 26 PPG and 10 APG in a season. He was not named an All-Star this year.
For his career, he has averaged 25.5 PPG and 9.5 APG. Only Oscar Robertson has done this; he is just a one-time All-NBA player.
He has the most assists in the entire league since the 2019/2020 season with 3,215, and the fifth most points with 8,830.
Young and Tiny Archibald are the only players in NBA History to lead the league in both points and assists in a season.
From these stats alone, it is criminal that Trae Young isn't considered a top-25 player in the league by any major sports publications and the vast majority of fans. His 'awful' defense has been scrutinized more than any other player, and it's hard to figure out why.
The Defense
For players who played over 2000 minutes in the NBA last season, Trae Young had the 12th-worst Defensive Rating in the NBA. This is bad, but the 11 guys above him don't nearly get talked about as much for their defensive woes. The fact that Jerami Grant, a guy known for his defensive versatility, is above Young on the list is insane. Young is also tied with Harrison Barnes, another 'quality' defender.
A guy like Damian Lillard, who was also above Young on the list, has never been scrutinized on the defensive end like Young, barring perhaps last season. Lillard was named one of the top 75 players of all time, and while he is worthy of the selection, it's strange that he, along with others, is not held to the same standards as Trae.
Luka Doncic is probably the only other player criticized as much as Young defensively, which was multiplied due to it being in the Finals and Conference Finals.
What Can He Do
The simple answer is to win. Nobody argues with a winner, but unfortunately, the Atlanta Hawks are not in any position to win. Since their Conference Finals run in 2021, the Hawks have been constantly disappointing, finishing as a Play-In team every season.
Young has been at the center of trade talks over the past off-season, and backcourt partner Dejounte Murray has been shipped to New Orleans. It's only a matter of time before Atlanta goes full-on rebuild mode.
Whether that happens this off-season, during the regular season, or next off-season, hopefully, Trae will be moved to a winning team with good defensive pieces surrounding him.
Is Trae Young a Top 25 Player in the NBA
Yes
No
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