Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 5: Trae Young Soars

The Hawks were very difficult to pick for, at least initially. I tried avoiding the obvious at first, but realized that there was no better time to acknowledge it than now. It’s easy to forget with how his career has played out since, but Trae Young was once seen as one of the most promising players in basketball. In 2020, Bleacher Report ranked him as the 2nd best player under the age of 21, only behind fellow 2018 draft class member: Luka Doncic. The consensus on Trae was that he was an incredible offensive player who was held back by poor defense, but his offense was so good that it was worth the drawback. Trae finished 2nd in 2019 Rookie of the year voting, then finished top 5 in points and assists per game in his second season while single-handedly elevating the Hawks’ offense from bad to good. If he can get the right pieces around him, he could take the Hawks far. In the 2021 playoffs, everything clicked. The Atlanta Hawks entered the playoffs as a team that people thought could be fun, but not dangerous to true contenders and likely just a small bump in the road for their first round opponent, the New York Knicks. Only 3 ESPN analysts picked the Hawks to win. Instead, the Hawks gave the Knicks a beating. Trae set the tone in game 1 when he won the game with a last second floater and proceeded to average 29 points and 10 assists throughout the series as Atalanta knocked off New York in just 5 games. It is a series New York STILL hasn’t gotten over as Trae Young played the villain perfectly. His 36-point performance in game 5 to clinch the series was the most by a Hawk in a playoff game since 2016. Heading into round 2, Atlanta met the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons 76ers. Sure, it was fun watching the Hawks destroy New York and expose them as frauds, but surely Philly would crush them with ease. Embiid was questionable going in, but he played game 1 and put up nearly 40 points, with the help of 15 free throws. Too bad it didn’t matter as Trae Young put up 35 and 10, including a lob to John Collins for a dunk on Embiid’s head, for the win. Trae’s 2nd 35+ point performance made him the first Hawk to have multiple 35+ games since Dominique Wilkins in 1988. Philly went on to win the next 2 games before Atlanta won game 4 to tie the series. Trae Young then proceeded to put up nearly 40 points in game 5 to reach the doorstep of the conference finals. I’m willing to bet you all remember this part. Ben Simmons has his meltdown and destroys his basketball career in game 7 as Atlanta completes the upset and makes it back to the conference finals. What you may not remember is Trae shot a putrid 22% from the field in game 7. In hindsight, that was perhaps a sign of things to come in his career, but at the time, it didn’t matter, Trae Young had just led his team to the conference finals where they would meet Giannis and the Bucks. Once again, the Hawks won game 1 and Trae Young had the best game of his career. 48 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds on 50% shooting. It is the 2nd most points in a playoff game for an Atlanta Hawk, only trailing 50-point games from Bob Petit and Dominique Wilkins. All of a sudden, the Hawks looked like they could actually make it to the NBA finals. Sadly, a combination of injuries and poor play hampered Trae for the rest of the series and the Hawks lost in 6. At the end of Trae’s first ever playoff run, he had guided the Hawks back to the conference finals while setting Hawks records for the most points and assists in a single playoff run. It’s easy to look back on this run, see it as a fluke and criticize the Hawks heavily for not realizing that. At the same time, Trae allowed Hawks fans to experience something they rarely do. 2021 isn’t just the last time Atlanta won a playoff series, it is 1 of just 2 times since 1970 that they’ve made it to the conference finals and unlike 2015, the Hawks had a real chance and gave genuine hope to Atlanta basketball. Trae Young is a quintessential example of the NBA ‘catching up to him’ and making his play-style obsolete. However, only remembering his faults would be a disservice. For 1 year, Trae Young soared and became a Larry O’Brien Legend. He just flew too close to the sun.