2023-24 Atlanta Hawks player review: Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks once again landed in the play-in tournament, though the sights were set much higher ahead of the season, especially for Trae Young. As he said himself in his exit interview, no one had higher expectations than him.

Young finished the season only having played 54 games, the lowest mark of his career. While fans were left with a sour taste in the final play-in game versus the Chicago Bulls, a large step back reveals what was another remarkable season for the 25-year-old face of the franchise.

Young finished the season with averages of 25.7 points, 10.8 assists (career-high), 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals (career-high). His field goal efficiency mirrored last season at 43 percent, but he shot 37.3 percent from three—a notable uptick from the year prior.

Through his first 11 games, the lack of efficiency was evident. He averaged 23.4 points and 11.1 assists on just 35.6 percent from the field. He was shooting just 28.2 percent from three-point range during this span. However, nuzzled in these 11 games, we saw a herculean performance in Mexico City. Young scored 41 points against the Orlando Magic, with a staggering 33 points coming in the first half alone. Fans saw the Trae Young they know: throwing flashy lob passes, hitting logo threes, and dominating any defensive coverage thrown his way.

One could argue this game finished with the best pass of the regular season, from Young to Dejounte Murray, who nailed the game-winning three-pointer.

After this breakout performance, Young again struggled in the following three games versus some tough defense in the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers in mid-November.

Subsequently, things picked up for Young in a big way.

In his last six games of November, he averaged 33 points per game, 9.7 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 51 percent from two and 43 percent from three. He topped 30 points in four of these six games, including scoring over 40 twice. Scoring outbreaks from Young have always been expected. A facet of his game that came as a surprise? was his defense.

By the end of November, the strides on the defensive end were already evident. We saw more defensive activity than ever from the offensive-minded point guard, and he finished the season with a career high of 1.3 steals per game. By the end of November, he had already made multiple clutch plays in late-game situations.

For example, against the Indiana Pacers, Young won the isolation battle when attacked by Tyrese Haliburton.

When playing for the Spurs, Young fired back on defense in the final seconds to take the game-sealing charge on Jeremy Sochan.

In this same game, Young showcased some ridiculous shot-making over the outstretched arms of Victor Wembanyama.

The month of December was inarguably Young’s best stretch of the season. He averaged 30.4 points, 12.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across thirteen games. He put up these numbers with good efficiency too, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three on 10.4 attempts per game. While his play was undeniable, the Hawks still only won four games during this span against the Raptors, Pistons, Rockets, and Wizards.

In December, Young went on a streak of seven straight games, scoring 30 or more points and dishing out 10 or more assists. This streak tied Oscar Robertson for the NBA record for most consecutive games played.

December and November represented the best of Trae Young, while he couldn’t continue the same terrific pace into January and February. He notched just two games, shooting 50 percent or better on the field in January, as he hit a slump in the season. Of course, during his “slumps,” the efficiency may not be great, but the numbers are still respectable. He logged double-digit assists far more often than not and was not shy about playing 30-point games.

While he was not originally selected as an All-Star, Young did make it in as an All-Star reserve and accepted the invitation. There is no doubt his play earned a trip to Indianapolis, where he represented the Hawks in the skills challenge, three-point competition, and, of course, the All-Star game itself.

In late January to early February, the Hawks strung together a four-game win streak, something that only happened once at the beginning of the season. After the All-Star break, Young was only able to play one game before injuring his finger. That game was on February 23rd, and the next game he played was on April 10th. He looked great in his return, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and dealing 11 assists. On April 14th, Young’s 11th assist made him the all-time leader in assists in Hawks franchise history.

In the play-in game versus the Bulls, Young struggled mightily in the first quarter. He was obviously uncomfortable, quickly taking off the brace on his hand in the middle of the game. One of the things you cannot do against a Bulls team that loves to get out in transition is turn the ball over. Young threw five turnovers in the first quarter alone, putting the Hawks in a quick deficit. He improved and looked more comfortable as the game went on, only throwing one turnover for the rest of the game. It is worth noting that Young’s 4.4 turnovers per game were the most since his 2019–20 season.

However, it was noticeable that the Hawks defense was not in rhythm. They were struggling with Young playing “show” defense, then getting back to his man. With Murray in and Young out due to injury, the Hawks were able to switch most matchups with ease. This is not the case with Young, and the Hawks looked like the team they had for most of the year, unable to figure it out defensively. Young was obviously out of rhythm, and one cannot judge his season based on the final game while he was still returning from injury.

Though he achieved many feats, the Hawks ended with an abysmal 36 wins and another play-in berth. In his exit interview, Young spoke plenty about his injured finger, the season, and the off-season to come.

I’ll probably take a couple weeks off make sure my my hand is back to 100% before I start doing anything else.

The most popular quote from Young that made its rounds through social media was this one, where he says he wants to be in Atlanta but he also wants to win.

I mean obviously I want to be here but I want to win too… I’ve said that since I’ve been here, I want to be here I want to win championships here and do that, but I want to win so I mean that’s pretty much all it is for me. That’s my motto and that’s been me from the beginning.

When asked if that can be here or if he believes it’s somewhere else, Young had a short response.

I believe it can be here but we got to make it happen.

Young was also asked about how he would entice a player to come play in Atlanta.

I’m just a guy that’s trying to get everybody involved and win the game and I know when we win everybody eats so that’s just been motto since I was in high school, college, so being the best player on my team doesn’t matter, being the second doesn’t matter like, I just want to win. So if I were to tell somebody that, that’s probably what I’d tell them and let them know that they came here because they are going to have a point guard that’s going to get them the ball and make sure they are in the best positions for themselves and for our team to win.

In the final moments of his interview, Young was asked what it was like watching the playoffs while not being in them.

It hurts like hell. It hurts like hell. That’s why I feel the way I feel… After going through what we went through, obviously the expectations are higher, not only for the fan base here but for me myself, so I want to get back there; I want to go further.

When asked if he feels pressure from the city and fan base, Young said no.

No, I don’t… No, because nobody’s expectations are higher than mine. Nobody in the city of Atlanta’s expectations of our team are higher than mine, so no, I don’t feel it because, to be honest, I’m more mad and upset than anybody else because we didn’t reach the expectations I had for our team or our team had for each other…