2024-25 Atlanta Hawks player preview: Trae Young

Another cycle of trade rumors passes and Trae Young enters his 7th season as an Atlanta Hawk

There are two sides to the previous season for Young. Individually, he made another All-Star appearance, averaging just under 26 points and 11 assists per game. He made significant strides on the defensive end. He tied the NBA record for consecutive games with 30 or more points and 10 or more assists. He became the Hawks’ franchise leader in assists.

But as the face of the franchise, his success is largely intertwined with the team’s success.

From a bird’s-eye view, it’s hard to describe the Hawks’ season as anything more than disappointing. They somehow gave themselves a chance to make the playoffs, but a final record of 36-46 is largely undeserving of a playoff spot.

At this point, you know what you’re getting from Young: over 25 points per game, mixed with double-digit assists. His assist totals have consistently increased each season (8.1, 9.3, 9.4, 9.7, 10.2, 10.8). If this trend continues, he could surpass 11 assists per game—a feat last achieved by Russell Westbrook in the 2020-21 season. Young’s 54 games played were the fewest in a season for him, but he finished second only to Tyrese Haliburton in assists per game.

Young faced his first real injury in his Hawks tenure toward the end of the season, missing a string of games due to a torn ligament in his pinky finger. Fortunately, he was able to return for a few games to finish the year, and it doesn’t seem to be a lingering issue. He addressed the injury on media day, noting that his main focus in the offseason is to get his body ready to play 82 games.

“For me, I don’t know how many new moves or new little tricks I’ll add to my game so, I value playing, I value being durable. I think the fans value me, I mean, would rather see me out on the court than on the sidelines. So for me, even though it was a little freak injury last year, I hated missing as many games as I did.”

The trade of Dejounte Murray marked a clear investment in Trae Young, and the team has a much clearer identity entering this season. The front office paired Young with well-respected defender Dyson Daniels, which should make life easier for him. With Daniels, the Hawks also added size at the wing with Zaccharie Risacher. The team makes a lot more sense and should have greater continuity than last season. Young is the definitive ball-handler, occasionally deferring to Jalen Johnson to bring the ball up the floor.

You can expect to see Young go for 30, 40, or even 50-point games. You can also anticipate him posting 14 or more assists in a game, with a few turnovers from pushing the limits. But what will we see from Young defensively this season? Objectively speaking, this team’s defense was abysmal last season.

So, what does it take from Young to be a good defender? Consistent effort. We have entered an era of NBA basketball where offensive stars are often hidden on defense. Given Young’s size, it’s natural for teams to target him, but he has proven he can hold his own when he wants to. Take this short clip of one-on-one situations where he came up big on the defensive side of the ball.

And there are far more examples. If Young is able to give effort like this consistently, he will put together his best and most complete season yet.

After playing the Orlando Magic, Young even received props from JJ Redick and Paolo Banchero on his improvement on this end.

With a clear shift towards defense with the off-season additions, it should only be easier for him to compete at a high level on that end.

“The defensive end is big for us and a place we needed to improve on. I can continue to get better on that end too, but for me even adding Dyson is going to be unbelievable for us… I know a lot of people are excited for his defense. I’m 10 times more excited about his defense that he brings to us but it’s also my job to make it easier for I’m on offense”

ESPN ranked Trae Young the 37th best player entering the 2024-25 season, if you’re into that sort of thing. I won’t name any players ranked ahead of him as there’s more than a handful you could argue against. My take on this remains that winning solves everything.

As I mentioned, Young’s stature is directly tied to the team’s success—or, in this case, lack thereof. Most experts and fans alike overlook statistics unless a team is winning games. For Young, that’s his primary focus anyway.

“We weren’t in the playoffs. We need to be back in the playoffs this year so regardless of how anybody looks at our team, I feel like we need to be there… It’s my job to do everything I can to to be ready and also lift my teammates up as much as I can to make sure we’re all ready each and every night… that’s the goal every year.

Young has already reached impressive heights in his career, but he and the fans share a common goal: the Hawks need to make another playoff run. This means securing a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference and avoiding the play-in tournament. If he can lead the team to 43 or more wins and clinch even one playoff series victory, his name will reemerge in the right conversations.