Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young recently shared a defining moment he had as a kid.
Speaking to Michael Kinney of The Journal Record, the fifth overall pick of this year's draft reminisced on an encounter he had as a child with fellow Oklahoma native and Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin.
“I remember going to Blake Griffin’s camp when I was a kid,” shared Young. “I think there’s an old picture of me and Blake on there, on social media somewhere, where he’s holding my head. I was so small. I remember him talking at our camp, he was talking about a lot of people don’t ever get the opportunity to come out of Oklahoma and play at the highest levels. So I remember him talking about how you can do good things coming out of Oklahoma.”
According to Real GM, the only other active NBA player to hail from Oklahoma aside from Young and Griffin is Sacramento Kings Guard Buddy Hield. Moreover, there are only a total of 20 players in the history of the league who are Oklahom natives, and the only other recognizable player on the list is former Hawks point guard Mookie Blaylock.
In this regard, Griffin was indeed speaking facts. This makes his achievements even more impressive, and it has obviously had an impact on Young.
“That was very inspirational to me,” Young added. “I wanted to do something special, and luckily, I did.”
Speaking in the past tense here, Young knows that he has already made his home state of Oklahoma proud. This kid has his whole career ahead of him and so long as he is able to keep his head right, he has the potential to be the greatest Oklahoman to ever play the game.
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