The practice courts at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex fall silent as most Atlanta Hawks players depart. Yet, Trae Young, seated near the baseline, remains acutely aware of the constant chatter and criticism that follows him. Now in his eighth NBA season, Young enjoys strong support in Atlanta, but he`s also a frequent target for detractors, ranging from players like Patrick Beverley to various online commentators.
Young can easily list the common complaints leveled against him: `I can`t adapt my playstyle. I struggle to play alongside certain teammates.` He finds this amusing, stating, `Honestly, it`s quite comical to me. It`s really funny. There are just so many narratives.`
After a surprising run to within two wins of the NBA Finals in 2020-21, Young and the Hawks have since found themselves in four consecutive play-in tournaments. They suffered first-round losses twice and failed to reach the postseason entirely in the last two years.
While Young maintains that every season is important, he concedes that this particular one feels `special` and `definitely the biggest season for me.` He`s in the prime of his career, and as the reigning assists champion, he now boasts the strongest roster he`s ever played with. Young, who has a $49 million player option for the next season, is eager to demonstrate to Atlanta that he is a superstar talent worthy of the four-year, $229 million maximum extension he`s eligible for.
However, given the NBA`s restrictive second-apron era, Atlanta is adopting a wait-and-see approach regarding an extension. This strategy allows the Hawks to evaluate the new, retooled roster`s performance while maintaining financial flexibility. If things don`t go as planned, they`ll have the option to pivot and build around their promising young core. Similarly, Kristaps Porzingis and the Hawks will also postpone extension talks until they assess how this season unfolds.
For Young, this means the All-Star guard might explore his options next summer if an extension isn`t offered later this season, requiring him to embrace a future not entirely within his control.
“I think it`s going to be great. I`m not worried about it,” Young told ESPN regarding the lack of an extension. “As much as I wish it was, it`s not all in my hands and I can`t control everything. I just can only control the present. And I know if we win, everybody eats … I understand what winning can do. If certain things don`t go my way as far as injuries, health and stuff that I can`t control, that may be the man above telling me there`s another plan for me. I`m focused on making sure all my guys, Quin [Snyder] included, get taken care of and succeed.”
This past summer, new general manager Onsi Saleh orchestrated one of the NBA`s most impressive offseasons. The Hawks acquired Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard, in addition to securing the New Orleans Pelicans` unprotected 2026 first-round pick – a potentially high lottery selection in what`s expected to be a deep draft class.
Young`s primary objective is to integrate these experienced veterans with rising Hawks stars like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu, ultimately leading Atlanta into championship contention. Fortuitously, injuries to key Eastern Conference stars like Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers have created an opportunity in the East.
This strengthened roster provides Young a prime opportunity to return to the playoff stage, reaffirm his status as a franchise cornerstone, and silence his critics. He firmly believes that the talent surrounding him will enable him to showcase a more complete version of himself.
“There`s a lot of misconceptions about me,” Young stated. “They`ll get changed over time, and I truly believe that. And I feel like a lot of it will get changed this year.”
Before the second day of the Hawks` training camp began, the team`s weight room buzzed with unusual energy. Young, now a seasoned veteran at 27, was actively engaging, high-fiving teammates, and galvanizing them before their weightlifting session.
“I will say there definitely is a new sense of energy with Trae this year,” said Okongwu, entering his sixth season. “He`s always had that, but it`s different this year. He`s really taking that leap forward in terms of leadership. He`s really trying to galvanize the group. We have a really young team, so he`s trying to be the guy to lead the young players and to be a voice for the guys in the locker room. Just in terms of communication, I`ve heard him more this year than I have in previous years, and I commend him for that.”
During training camp, Johnson observed Young `just smiling` frequently. Nothing seems to dim Young`s enthusiasm for his teammates this season, not even recent remarks from Patrick Beverley.
A couple of weeks prior, Patrick Beverley publicly questioned Young`s leadership and ability to win. In a brief online exchange, the former Clipper claimed to have spoken with some of Young`s former teammates who reportedly disliked playing with the point guard and doubted his leadership.
Young countered on his podcast, challenging Beverley to `state your source` and asserting that he was never intimidated by `Patty Bev,` a renowned defender throughout his 12-season career.
Current Hawks players describe Young as a deeply caring leader who organized their group text chain to foster camaraderie among one of the league`s youngest rosters. In a recent 111-107 victory over the Orlando Magic, a beaming Young celebrated exuberantly with rookie Asa Newell during a timeout after setting him up for a three-pointer and an alley-oop dunk in a tense fourth quarter, as if he himself had just scored his first professional baskets.
“Last year, he made tremendous strides with the leadership component,” general manager Saleh informed reporters before camp. “I thought he was excellent playing off the ball, just his energy towards the game. His teammates, I thought he was great last year [with them]. We`re super confident in him just helping lead our guys and playing with a guy like Onyeka, Kristaps, Luke and Nickeil, having more weapons around him, too. I think it`s super exciting, but just the natural development of a star player. He`s getting better every year, and we expect that to happen this season as well.”
Despite the optimism, Young and the Hawks will require patience. The season`s opening night, a 138-118 loss to the Toronto Raptors, highlighted that an adjustment period is inevitable with so many new faces. The team will also face adversity, with nine of their first 14 games scheduled on the road.
This challenging early schedule includes two crucial matchups against Orlando, another team that made significant offseason moves and aims to climb the Eastern Conference standings. Already, the Hawks have played two consecutive games without Porzingis (due to flu-like symptoms) and Risacher (right ankle sprain). Johnson (right ankle sprain) also joined them on the sidelines during Saturday`s loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nevertheless, the Hawks` offseason acquisitions have provided much-needed depth, which the team hopes will make the difference between contending in the East and once again being a perennial play-in team.
These crucial moves were facilitated with assistance from the franchise`s point guard. When Young learned the Hawks were pursuing Alexander-Walker and Kennard in free agency, he personally called both players to recruit them and extol the virtues of Atlanta.
Alexander-Walker expected stars from courting teams to reach out during free agency, but only Young contacted him multiple times.
Alexander-Walker, who recently appeared in two consecutive Western Conference Finals with Anthony Edwards in Minnesota, observes similarities between Young and Edwards in how their self-assurance and competitive drive can sometimes be perceived negatively.
“Ant has a very strong personality,” Alexander-Walker shared with ESPN. “Trae has a strong personality. It just comes out differently. And so when guys are very self-confident and aware of who they are, to the untrained eye that could be arrogance. It could be cockiness. Trae has confidence. Ant, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Luka [Doncic] have confidence… But [Young] still carries a heavy burden of pressure. And he`s had success through his pressure.”
The Hawks` offseason strategy aimed to alleviate some of the pressure on Young by adding Porzingis, Alexander-Walker, and Kennard, requiring Young to adapt his playing style. Coach Snyder has emphasized increasing the tempo and encouraging Young to pass the ball up the floor to generate early offense for wing players such as Johnson, Risacher, and Daniels, who recently signed a four-year, $100 million extension.
Snyder also intends for Young to play more off-ball, passing the ball and then receiving it back for easier shots—a tactic reminiscent of Stephen Curry with the Golden State Warriors—thereby conserving energy that might otherwise be spent creating his own shot against defenders.
For the 7-foot-2 Porzingis, his `main mission` is to simplify the game for his new point guard. This isn`t his first time playing alongside a dynamic playmaker; he previously played with Luka Doncic in Dallas for two and a half seasons, though that pairing didn`t yield the desired results.
Now, Porzingis hopes to leverage that past experience to forge a more successful partnership with Young.
“The playmaking, they both have it at the highest of levels,” Porzingis remarked to ESPN when comparing Doncic and Young. “They do some similar stuff, honestly. Their builds are different. But they`re both masterminds at reading the basket, anticipating what`s going to happen, reading the game, anticipating what`s going to happen. That experience [with Doncic in Dallas] is definitely going to help me. Playing with Luka and having those open conversations and open dialogue with Trae about what he likes, where he wants to get the ball, and how I can make his life easier.”
Porzingis and Doncic collaborated on 405 pick-and-pop plays with Doncic as the ballhandler during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking second only to Young and John Collins among all combinations, according to ESPN Research. However, Young has never had a center quite like Porzingis, often dubbed `The Unicorn.`
Already a master of the floater, with 752 in his career—the most in the NBA since tracking began in 2013-14, per GeniusIQ—Young is eager to introduce new aspects to his game alongside Porzingis.
“I haven`t had a guy like him in the NBA,” Young explained. “So I think you`ll be able to really see what different things that I can do with a guy that can pick and pop and spread the defense, spread the five man out to 30 feet. I think you`ll be able to see a lot of different things that I haven`t been able to show in the past, too. Hopefully this year I get a lot more catch-and-shoot shots, something that a lot people don`t think I can do.”
Young is accustomed to having the ball in his hands, having dribbled it 226,906 times—the most of any player since he entered the league in 2018. However, he is prepared to reduce his scoring output to involve his teammates more effectively. His scoring average declined from a career-high 29.6 points per game in 2019-20 to 24.2 last season.
Johnson, who commenced the season with an impressive 22 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, is emerging as a reliable playmaker for Young. Young highlighted their developing chemistry before Johnson`s season-ending shoulder injury on January 23.
“I want a lot of people to write us off,” Johnson, now fully recovered from surgery, told ESPN. “What we`re building behind the scenes, it`s something special.”
Young remains highly optimistic about the Hawks` potential with what he considers his most talented roster to date.
“If we are healthy,” Young asserted, “I mean the world better be ready for what`s coming.”
Even with Porzingis and Risacher sidelined in Orlando, Young found sufficient support to overcome a 14-point deficit and secure a surprising victory against the Magic.
“I thought he managed the game as well as I`ve seen him manage a game late,” Snyder commented on Young`s performance. “Just directing people where to go. And our guys were listening, too.”
Four teammates reached double figures in scoring, but it was Young who sealed the win. He contributed 11 of his 25 points in the final 5:59, including a signature 15-foot floater that silenced the Orlando crowd with just 46.3 seconds remaining.
“He brought us home,” Johnson affirmed.
When it comes to silencing critics, it`s perhaps fitting that the Hawks star, seen wearing an OU hoodie at the practice facility, draws inspiration from another famous former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback: Baker Mayfield.
“You see it playing right now with another OU guy with Baker Mayfield and what winning does for somebody,” Young reflected, referencing how the quarterback has transformed public perception by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to consecutive playoff appearances since 2024 and achieving 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.”
Over four years have passed since Young became a New York antagonist, taking a bow at Madison Square Garden and waving goodbye to Knicks fans after eliminating New York in five games during the first round of the 2021 playoffs. That moment marked the beginning of an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals in only his third season.
Young might have anticipated many more deep playoff runs and clutch shot-making moments after that. He is certainly not taking this current opportunity—with the most talented roster he`s ever had—for granted.
“I`m willing to give up the ball,” Young declared. “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.”
The week before training camp commenced, Snyder and Young convened to discuss their strategy for the upcoming season. Both men emphasized the concept of `efficiency` during their conversation. Last season, Young averaged 11.6 assists but shot a career-low 41.1% from the field and led the league with 4.7 turnovers.
“The keyword for Trae is efficiency,” Snyder stated. “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.”
While teams like Cleveland and New York have had more time to build chemistry and are projected to be among the top teams in the East, the Hawks are hopeful that their new dynamic will allow them to peak at the opportune moment and make a significant impact in the postseason.
If that comes to pass, Young might finally quiet his detractors, much like his fellow formerly criticized Sooner quarterback.
“People may get the wrong perception of us because of what you see on social media or what somebody may say about you,” Young commented. “I understand Baker, when they say, he`s a hothead [or] he`s crazy. But then when you`re winning, now he`s a `dawg.` He`s competitive. The whole perspective changes just because you win. That`s my main focus. I just want to win. That`ll change all the narratives.”
Jasper Carew 
Rupert Hollis