Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young offered up a piping-hot take on his standing in the history of the league, during an appearance on the podcast “Million Dollaz of Game.”
The pint-sized point guard believes that, had it not been for his 6-foot-1 stature, he’d have a legitimate shot at NBA GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) status.
“I used to have this saying: I hate when I see guys that are tall, and that’s all,” Young contended. “They’re just tall, and that’s it. They can finish, they can do some stuff, but if I was 6’8″, I feel like I would be the best player to ever play this game just because of my mentality and the smartness I have on this game,” Young boldly claimed.
“I feel like there’s a lot I can bring, but there are a lot of deficiencies because I’m 6’1″, 6’2″. It’s tough, and I’m playing in a big man’s game, you know what I’m saying? But I make it work,” Young argued.
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks controls the ball against the Chicago Bulls on April 17, 2024 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Young believes he could be the league’s GOAT — but one critical factor is holding him back.
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
In fairness, this is the kind of self-confidence great basketball players generally need to practice their craft. Given Young’s defensive issues and his occasionally sloppy ball control, even for his position, there are obvious things the 25-year-old needs to address.
Young is a three-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA Third Teamer, but his flashy individual play has yet to translate to major team success — beyond one fluky run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, brought on in large part by a mind-blowing Ben Simmons meltdown in a Semifinals series matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Last year, the Oklahoma product appeared in just 54 contests for the Hawks. He did earn his third All-Star berth, averaging 25.7 points on a solid .430/.373/.855 slash line, 10.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals a night.
But, as often has happened, his Hawks failed to even make the playoffs.
In 2023-24, Atlanta finished with a 36-46 overall record and the Eastern Conference’s No. 10 seed. The Hawks were blown out during their lone play-in tournament bout this spring, a 131-116 obliteration at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. Chicago went on to get blown out in its second play-in game, against the Miami Heat and traded away perhaps its two best players this summer in DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
Atlanta lucked out this summer in another respect, however. The Hawks moved up in this year’s 2024 NBA Draft lottery, nabbing the rights to the overall No. 1 selection. Hawks team president Landry Fields used the pick on high-upside French forward Zaccharie Risacher, ahead of now-Washington Wizards big man Alex Sarr and now-Houston Rockets combo guard Reed Sheppard.
Read more: Atlanta Hawks Select French Prospect With No. 1 Overall Pick in 2024 NBA Draft
The team also made another major change to its incumbent personnel this offseason, trading one-time All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. That move will essentially give team control back to Young, who has shared ballhandling duties with Murray for the past few seasons.
