NBA – Hall of Famer’s strong take on Trae Young: «I would’ve won multiple championships with him»

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Trae Young has established himself as one of the league’s best point guards since joining the NBA. To the point where one former NBA player openly regrets not having had the chance to play alongside the Atlanta superstar, as he recently admitted.

Trae Young’s situation with the Hawks is a rather strange one. Drafted in 2018, the point guard quickly became the local franchise player and cornerstone of the roster. Unfortunately, that never really translated into team results aside from a conference final in 2021. It’s starting to feel like a long time…

This year again, Atlanta barely reached the Play-In before being eliminated without being able to compete in the playoff battle. Paradoxically, its superstar had a tremendous season, averaging over 24 points and 11 assists, even becoming the league’s number one passer. All this with atrocious shooting percentages, however (41% including 34% from distance) and still being as easy to target on defense…

Dominique Wilkins regrets not playing with Trae Young

As you can see, it’s difficult to give a definitive verdict on the leader. That said, his talent is beyond question, and Dominique Wilkins will be the first to tell you that. A Hall of Famer and living legend of the franchise, the Human Highlight Film was full of praise for him, speaking to Esports Insider:

He doesn’t have to be (the first option) if you have the right mix. As a great point guard, you’re going to always have the ball and the ability to take over games when you need to. He’s shown that time and time again. He has the ability to do that. You need that other superstar, and they’ve got superstars-in-the-making, but sometimes it takes a little time. But Trae has the ability to do whatever he wants on the floor.

He doesn’t have to score more. His decision-making and ability to get people open is next level. He’s a wonderful basketball player. I tell you what – if I had him, I would have won multiple championships. As a point guard, Trae doesn’t have to score 25 or 30 every night, because your job is to get everyone involved. He’s done that. He had an unbelievable year.

It ain’t about getting 30 a night. Any great point guard who can score can do that on a given night, but you defer to the other guys to help get to the next level. You see that happening with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Even though he gets 30 or 40 some nights, other night J-Dub (Jalen Williams) has big nights, and other guys have big nights. It just depends on the opponent you play against and the adjustments you make in games