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ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks' season is officially over after losing to the Miami Heat 123-114 in the Play-In Tournament. The Hawks fought all game, and they were able to take the game into overtime after Trae Young made a layup to tie the game with seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Heat came out in overtime and steamrolled the Hawks from the 3-point line, and it was too much to overcome for the home team in the end. The Hawks will now head into the offseason missing the playoffs two years in a row, and it will be interesting to see what changes are made.
For Young, his goal is always to win, and he was asked after the game how he would assess this season in totality.
“We all look at the season differently,” Young said. “For me personally, not making the playoffs is a failure for me, no matter who is out there. No matter how much adversity with injuries we've had to face, I still felt like we had a good enough group to make the playoffs.”
Trae was asked how would he assess this season
“For me I felt like we could’ve made the playoffs, so it’s a failure to me.”
He noted that the Hawks were a young team this season and was told before the year to focus on them getting better everyday
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— Malik Brown (@_MalikATL) April 19, 2025
“Nobody looks at us as a title contender. It's all about how we can get better each and everyday and focus on that. That's something that was told to me before the season started, and what I needed to focus on. People know how much I care about winning; that's all I care about.”‘
Young has had to carry the load for most of the second half of the season, with Jalen Johnson going down for the rest of the year. The Hawks also made some trades at the deadline that shifted the team, but they were still able to win 40 games and have a chance at making the playoffs.
Trae Young gives his opinion on Hawks' season
Young has been playing with a young group of guys all season and has gotten the most out of them to the point where they were competing for a playoff spot at the end of the season.
“For me, I've had to focus more on the younger guys and making sure we get better each and every day, and I felt like we've done that,” Young said. “With the guys that have been out, Larry [Nance Jr.], Jalen [Johnson], those are big pieces for us. Making the transition from [De'Andre Hunter] midseason, he was the Sixth Man of the Year in the running at that point. We still fought and got the No. 8 seed. We just didn't finish the job.
“Personally, I felt like we could've made the playoffs, so it's a failure to me.”
This year was more of a development season for the Hawks, and if they can stay healthy next season, things should look better for them. With Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels having a full season under their belt with the team, Onyeka Okongwu slotting in as the starting center, Johnson returning healthy, and Young coming back, the Hawks should be a team to look for to be more competitive next year.
