To the common basketball fan, the Trae Young selection was about one thing, shooting. It’s hard to really blame anyone for thinking that. From his early days in high school, there have been videos of Young lighting up the basket from way beyond the three-point line. He is one of those transcendent players in the NBA with unlimited range.
With that being said, the Hawks went all in on Young for much more than just his shooting.
His passing is about as elite as it gets. Through his first 10 games of his career, Young is putting up 8.1 assists a game, good for fourth NBA, right behind a guy you might have heard of, Chris Paul. That is not even considering Young is only playing in 30.6 minutes per game and with teammates who don’t exactly fill it up around him. It’s hard not imagining him leading the league in assists one day once there is adequate talent around him.
Passing is something he displayed in college, however, leading the NCAA in assists as well as scoring his freshman year. What I was really interested to see is how he fared in the paint against NBA bodies. So far, he has not just passed the test, he is dominating it.
Check out this stat from Nylon Calculus:
Finishing at the rim has definitely not been a problem for Trae Young so far pic.twitter.com/oXJc4oSvOJ
— The Nylon Calculus (@NylonCalculus) November 5, 2018
Despite being only 6’1″ and maybe 180 pounds, Young has had absolutely no problem finishing around the rim. Not only has he been better from inside the paint than behind the arc, but he has also been among the best in the league at finishing drives. How many of you expected to see that this early? I will keep my hand down because this is a pleasant surprise, and one that should have Hawks fans even more jacked up for the future of this guy.
One place he does have ample room to improve is on the defensive end, but that is something that is going to come with time. If he can bang around with the big boys on offense, there is a reason to believe he can’t become an adequate defender. After all, some of the best defensive point guards are 6’2″ or shorter.
So what if he is only shooting 27.1% from the three-point line this season. That is the absolute last thing to worry about when it comes to Young. Eventually, the shots from deep are going to start falling. He is that amazing of a shooter. The future for the former Oklahoma Sooner is beyond bright.
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