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Trae Young did more than just surpass his career-high in points on Friday night – he reached a milestone that no other first-year player ever has.
Young became the first rookie in league history to record at least 45 points and 15 assists in a game, per Justin Kubatko of StatMuse.
The 20-year-old guard finished with a total of 49 points, 16 assists, and eight rebounds in a four-OT battle. Young's innate ability to score the basketball has made him a seamless fit on the tanking Atlanta Hawks this year.
It is a shooter's league after all, and that's Young's forte.
Despite the colossal night for Young, the Hawks (21-42) were defeated by the Chicago Bulls (18-45) 168-161.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine pretty much went toe-to-toe with Young the entire evening, finishing with some bodacious numbers of his own. The fifth-year LaVine went off for 47 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds.
With the regular season winding down over the next month, amid premature draft discussions and offseason speculation, it's truly refreshing to see two lower-half teams compete with their current rosters – and compete HARD for four (extra) quarters.
Trae Young is averaging 17.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 62 games played this year for Atlanta.
If nothing else, this performance should further bolster his case next to Luka Doncic in the cutthroat Rookie of the Year race.
Though Doncic is currently the more favored of the two guards to shelter the award, Young has refused to take his foot off the gas until the final votes are in. They were each recently named the Rookies of the Month for February.
Your move, Luka.
