It’s almost wild to say given all that Trae Young has accomplished throughout his young career, but the notion that he is now the most underrated player in the NBA should no longer be questioned. It is a fact, and Bleacher Report’s recent ranking of the top 30 guards in The Association is just the latest outlet to completely disregard how historic Young has been throughout his first five years in the league after just one year of college basketball.
Here’s the top 15:
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- Luka Doncic
- Steph Curry
- Devin Booker
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Damian Lillard
- Anthony Edwards
- Jamal Murray
- De’Aaron Fox
- Donovan Mitchell
- Ja Morant
- James Harden
- Kyrie Irving
- Trae Young
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Bradley Beal
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To be fair, the guard position is as loaded as it has ever been in the NBA’s history. All of these players are fantastic, but there is plenty wrong with this list, starting at the top.
For some reason, Doncic continues to get a pass for showing up out of shape and playing piss-poor defense. There’s absolutely no way he should be ahead of Steph Curry, and in reality, he’s had a very similar career trajectory as Trae Young. However, that doesn’t fit a lot of people’s narratives.
SGA was fantastic last season, but he still doesn’t have half the accomplishments that Young has over his career, and they are the same age! The same can be said for De’Aaron Fox, except he’s even a year older than Young, and while I believe in Anthony Edwards’ potential, he would have to take a massive leap this season to be comparable to the Hawks point guard.
Jamal Murray is another name that has no business being in front of Young. He is coming off a magical playoff run, but don’t tell me the Nuggets wouldn’t have run away with the NBA Title if you replaced Murray with Young. NBA analysts would be talking about Denver as the next dynasty if that was the case.
However, the name that perturbs me the most is James Harden at #11. While he’s one of my favorite basketball players of this generation, there’s no denying he’s on the decline as he enters his age-34 season. Harden’s not a better scorer or passer than Young, and despite being in the league for nearly a decade longer, he hasn’t accomplished any more in the postseason. There’s no world where someone with the basketball IQ of a peanut would take James Harden over Trae Young at this point in their respective careers.
These lists are fun and made to stir up controversy, but one day the NBA world is going to recognize just how deadly of a weapon Young is on the basketball court. Unfortunately, that might not happen until he wins an NBA championship, which may never happen while he’s on the Hawks given their current roster construction.
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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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