It seems whatever Trae Young does is never good enough for the NBA world. He leads the league in total points and assists, a feat only one other player has ever accomplished, and it’s considered stat padding. He wills his club to the Conference Finals and comes close to upsetting the eventual champion Bucks. Nope, it was just an easy path.
Until Ice Trae wins a championship, he will always be looked down upon. Much of it derives from his play style and size, but another driving factor is the draft day trade that sent Luka Dončić to Dallas and Young to Atlanta. Despite the Hawks being more than satisfied with their end of the bargain, it’s somehow looked at as a colossal failure on Atlanta’s part.
Thankfully, there are still some level-headed people out there spreading the good word and dispelling this Young-Dončić narrative. Draymond Green spoke with the Hawks superstar on his podcast, telling the crowd the truth:
Draymond kept it VERY real on the lopsided Luka-Trae comparisons
He quickly just made himself a Hawks fan-favorite pic.twitter.com/CVg4DxqOGQ
— joe schmidt (@Joe_Schmidt07) July 15, 2023
Young and Dončić have accomplished very similar things in their respective careers. Both have made All-Star and All-NBA teams, led their respective clubs to Conference Finals, but haven’t won anything of note — MVPs or championships.
I’ll be the first to tell you as a Hawks fan that Trae Young, at this point in their careers, isn’t the superior player to Luka Dončić; however, the difference is only marginal, if at all.
For all the slack the Hawks get, I don’t see anyone bashing the Suns for taking Deandre Ayton or the Kings for selecting Marvin Bagley, both of whom don’t compare to Young and Dončić.
Moreover, the city of Atlanta embraces Trae Young, but you can’t assume the city would have loved Dončić the same way. Although Cam Reddish didn’t pan out, in a vacuum, Trae Young and a top-ten pick is a fine haul for Luka Dončić.
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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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