From the outset of the 2025-26 NBA season, Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young had big dreams for his team this year. Perhaps it's the biggest reason Young isn't worried about his contract situation. He's focused on quieting his naysayers, which is something OU product Baker Mayfield can relate to. The current season for the Hawks is, in many ways, very important.
Young believes in the talent he's surrounded by, which he says can lead to a successful season. Using Mayfield as an example of shutting up the doubters, he said, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
“You see it playing right now with another OU guy with Baker Mayfield and what winning does for somebody,” Young said of the quarterback who has changed the public's perception of himself by guiding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to consecutive playoff appearances since 2024 and a 6-2 record this season. “I get chills talking about it. I know what I can do or what the image of me looks like once I just win.
“Win again.”
It's been five years since the Hawks' last deep playoff run, Young's first, and he's itching to do it again this season, surrounded by an experienced and young group of teammates, such as a 2024 NBA champion Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who's coming off of back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals, and a fifth-year forward who could average 20.0 points per game this season in Jalen Williams.
“I'm willing to give up the ball,” Young said. “It's just you have to have the guys that are out there that want the ball first to make a play, and two, that can draw certain attention when they do get the ball.
“I feel like we got that now.”
As many described Mayfield, “a hothead,” before finding success in the NFL, Young feels he can relate to the false narratives.
Quin Snyder on Trae Young, Hawks' upcoming season
Head coach Quin Snyder believes that if Hawks All-Star Trae Young can find consistency on both ends of the floor, the Hawks will succeed at a high level. Snyder knows Young is one of the best passers in the NBA and will find a way to fit alongside this year's talented roster.
“The keyword for Trae is efficiency,” Snyder said. “I think what you are going to see is Trae having to feel the game in a way. … There's games that's going to mean scoring more. There's games where he will be passing more. The constants will be him forcing pace, not just pushing the ball off the dribble but passing ahead. He was one of the best at passing ahead, if not the best.
“The other thing he has to do every night is be efficient defensively … One of the things we did talk about was me challenging him … He wants to get better every year.”
The Hawks will face the Bulls on Monday.
