Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young had one of the best defensive plays of his brief NBA career, blocking a corner three from the 6-foot-9 Kyle Anderson of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. The Hawks point guard followed through, pulling out Dikembe Mutombo's signature finger wag as a celebration.
It didn't take long for the video to reach the famed big man, who was proud of the defense from the young 6-foot-2 point guard.
I can not believe that my guy, Trae hitting them with ☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽#stayhungry https://t.co/LcXnpfGM0b
— Dikembe Mutombo (@officialmutombo) March 3, 2020
This was Young's eighth block of the 2019-20 season and the 23rd of his career. Mutombo is the second all-time leading shot-blocker in NBA history with 3,289 blocks to his name.
There are no active players in the top 10 of shot-blocking. The only active players in the top-30 are Dwight Howard (14th — 2,127 career blocks) and Serge Ibaka (29th — 1,665).
The Hawks talent is by no means a shot-blocker, but Mutombo is glad there's still somewhat of a penchant for defense and that young players like the Young are fond of his signature finger wag. That, however, would be one of the few highlights for the Hawks on Monday. Young struggled mightily with his shot, canning only 5-of-17 from the field and missing all four of his 3-point attempts in a 39-point loss to the Grizzlies.
This marked the third time Young failed to make any 3-pointers in a game this season, coupled with a game-worst seven turnovers. Nevertheless, at least the Lubbock native got some recognition from one of the all-time greats of defense.
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