Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks were in the middle of their matchup against the New York Knicks at State Farm Arena last March 11 when the NBA shockingly announced that they will be suspending the season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Young's father, Rayford, recalled that he was watching the game courtside when he went on Twitter and read the breaking news.
“I remember looking at a tweet from ESPN that Rudy Gobert tested positive and the NBA suspended the season,” the elder Young said, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
The Hawks were getting blown out by the visiting Knicks at that point, and the 21-year-old sophomore had no idea what just transpired at the time.
“Trae came out for the fourth quarter and he kind of looked at me. I said, ‘I think the season might be over. You better hurry up,’” Rayford recollected.
Rayford recalled how his son simply imploded after hearing the news and played like it was going to be his last game of the season.
“It was crazy because after that he went off, and one shot he took with both feet inside the logo near half court because they were down 18 to the Knicks,” he shared.
The Hawks' first-time All-Star had an outstanding output in his final game before the suspension, dropping 42 points and 11 assists. He shot 12-for-25 from the field and made 6-of-12 of his 3-point attempts.
Atlanta, however, still faltered to the Knicks, as the visitors ran away with a 136-131 victory.
The Hawks point guard, meanwhile, made a huge leap to superstardom in just his second year in the pros, tallying 29.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 1.1 steals in 60 games.
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