Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks is quickly becoming the nutmeg king of the NBA by whizzing passes and dribbles between the legs of his opponents. However, during the 2019-20 season, Young caught rangy veteran Trevor Ariza with the move, and he responded angrily – deeming it disrespectful.
On a recent episode of the All the Smoke podcast featuring NBA alumni Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Young spoke on the memorable nutmeg by making a surprising claim:
“People look at me and think that this is all fun and games and soft… When I’m on the court, I’m a dog… If someone threw it in between my legs in the middle of a game or in transition, I ain’t about to let that happen. I may do the same thing Trevor did.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_xaQQ5JdfF/
Certainly, Young is no stranger to confrontational play on the court, as his showmanship can sometimes rub opponents the wrong way – but anyone, player or fan, that doesn’t enjoy his extracurricular activities on the court simply doesn’t enjoy fun.
After finishing second to Luka Doncic in the Rookie of the Year race last year and nabbing a spot on the All-Rookie First Team, Young erupted in his second season and was top-10 in a variety of categories before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
Young was second behind only LeBron James in total assists (636 vs. 560) and assists per game (10.6 vs. 9.3), but it was likely his scoring that caught the attention of most fans around the league. Young was second only to James Harden in total points for the season with 1778 (behind James Harden’s 2096), and the 21-year-old was tied for tied with presumptive MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in points per game with 29.6.
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