Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young managed to persevere through a rough start to his rookie season, often overshadowed by the very man he was traded for — Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and his rousing Rookie of the Year season. Yet the Oklahoma product, the one most described as too thin, too wild, and too unathletic to forge a niche in the NBA, has rebounded in surging fashion thanks to some veteran advice by Kevin Durant and Chris Paul:
“KD reached out to me. He said remain [yourself], keep going, things are gonna turn and go the right way for you,” Young said, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “Just to keep my head straight. I've known KD a long time, and he's given me a lot of advice growing up.”
Paul also shared some words of wisdom with Young, something he has made a habit of with other point guards as a means of a fraternity:
“It's a humbling feeling just because I have the respect from guys like that,” Young said. “You play at this level, you want the respect of those type of guys. For me to have it as a rookie, it's an unbelievable feeling. That just pushes me to work harder because I wanna be at their level, too.”
Young is putting up a terrifying 30.6 points, 9.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game in his last five games — one that was capped by a 49-point outing in a four-overtime game against the Chicago Bulls.
Needless to say, the rookie point man has taken the advice to heart and managed to make the most of his rookie season.
Follow Us
Subscribe