Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young recently came out to say that in his mind, he believes that he will surpass Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry as the best shooter in the NBA in a year's time.

This controversial statement has been met with its fair share of backlash from fans and critics alike, which has prompted Young to try and explain his side on the matter. For starters, the Hawks All-Star guard shared how much love and respect he has for Curry.

“Yeah, everybody's talking to me about [that statement],” Trae Young said on Showtime's All the Smoke Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “I have a lot of respect for Steph. He's done so much. I think if it weren't for Steph there wouldn't be, maybe, a Trae Young. Steph is the first to do what he's doing. I got a lot of love for Steph and everything he's done.”

Moving on, the Hawks sharpshooter double downed on his earlier statement, saying that while he respects the Warriors guard and two-time MVP, he truly believes that he will soon overtake him.

“For me I'm very confident,” Young added. “Shaq was trying to get that out of me. He knows how confident I am in myself and my work and what i put in. That's what it is.”

You can't help but admire Young's confidence here. He has come out with a rather contentious statement, but he has packaged it in such a way that shows no disrespect to Stephen Curry. If this statement holds true, then the passing of the torch might come sooner than most expected.