Trae Young

Rayford Trae Young (born September 19, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, where in his one season in 2017–18, he tied the then NCAA Division I single-game assists record with 22 and became the only player to ever lead the NCAA in both points and assists in a single season. Nicknamed "Ice Trae", he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 NBA draft with the fifth pick, and traded the same day to the Atlanta Hawks, along with a future first-round pick, for the draft rights to Luka Dončić. He joined Dončić in a unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2019. He is a four-time NBA All-Star, and led the Hawks to three playoff runs, including a trip to the conference finals in 2021.

Early life

Born on September 19, 1998 in Lubbock, Texas, Trae is the son of Candice and Rayford Young, who played basketball at Texas Tech and professionally in Europe. He has a younger brother and two younger sisters. Young also has an uncle who played college basketball in the NAIA. Trae was raised in Pampa, Texas, by his mother and paternal grandparents, as his father played basketball overseas.

Young attended Norman North High School in Norman, Oklahoma. In his sophomore year, he averaged 25 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds per game as he helped Norman North win the 2015 area championship and was named Oklahoma's Sophomore of the Year. During his junior year, he significantly improved his game, averaging 34.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists as he led the team to a 28–4 record, winning the regional title and placing second in the 2016 Oklahoma Class 6A championship game. In his senior year, he averaged 42.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting at a 48.9% rate.

Recruiting

Young was considered one of the best players in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.com, Rivals.com and ESPN. ESPN considered him the second-best point guard prospect that year, while the other websites considered him the third best. On February 16, 2017, Young committed to the Oklahoma Sooners. He was the University of Oklahoma's first five-star recruit since Tiny Gallon in 2010.

College career

To begin the 2017–18 season, on November 12, Young recorded 15 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in a win over Omaha. Three days after his college debut, he recorded 22 points and a then season-high 13 assists in a win over Ball State. On November 26, Young recorded a season-high 43 points and seven assists in a 90–80 win over Oregon. That game had his name draw multiple comparisons to Stephen Curry in terms of his playing style. On December 19, Young tied (with three others) the then-NCAA single-game assists record with 22, while also recording 26 points in a 105–68 win against Northwestern State. Throughout the season, Young rose from being a late first-round or a second-round pick to being a potential top-three pick for the 2018 NBA draft. He also garnered praise from both LeBron James and Stephen Curry for his season with Oklahoma. In January, his individual defense was rated as "poor". He had a season-high 43 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists in a 102–97 overtime win over TCU on January 13. On January 20, Young recorded a new career-high 48 points in a 83–81 overtime loss to rival Oklahoma State.

Young finished his freshman regular season leading the country in many statistics: assists (271), points (848), points per game (27.4), assists per game (8.7) and assist percentage (48.6%). The 848 points scored in the Big 12 would break the conference's record for most points scored by a freshman player, which was previously held by Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley. He became the only player to ever lead the NCAA in both points and assists in a single season.

On March 7, 2018, Young was announced as the winner of the Wayman Tisdale Award for National Freshman of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). At the end of the regular season for Oklahoma, Young was also named Big 12's Freshman of the Year and was a member of the All-Big 12's First Team. In addition, he was also brought up as a consensus member of the All-American First Team, which was named throughout multiple organizations. Young also joined 2018's top two selections Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III as the first consensus All-American First-Team to have three freshman players be named there. On March 15, Young recorded 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds in an 83–78 overtime loss to seventh-seeded Rhode Island. He became the second freshman to record similar numbers of points in an NCAA tournament game, with Chris Paul being the first player back in 2004.

Following Oklahoma's loss in the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament, Young announced his intention to forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2018 NBA draft.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2018–2026)

2018–19 season: All-Rookie honors

On June 21, 2018, Young was selected with the fifth overall pick by his hometown team the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 NBA draft, but was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, along with a protected future first-round pick in exchange for the rights to the third overall pick Luka Dončić. On July 1, 2018, Young officially signed with the Hawks. On October 21, in the Hawks' third game of the season, Young finished with a season-high 35 points and 11 assists in a 133–111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. On November 19, Young finished with a then-career-high 17 assists, 25 points and three rebounds in a 127–119 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. On February 25, 2019, Young scored a then-career-high 36 points and made career high eight three-pointers in a 119–111 loss to the Houston Rockets. On February 27, Young recorded 36 points and 10 assists in a 131–123 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He then surpassed his season high two days later on March 1, putting up a then-career-high 49 points alongside 16 assists in a high-scoring 168–161 quadruple-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls. On March 31, Young scored a game-winner and had 12 points and 16 assists against the first-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. He joined Dončić in a unanimous selection to the 2019 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

2019–20 season: first All-Star selection

On October 24, 2019, Young scored 38 points in a 117–110 season-opening win against the Detroit Pistons. On November 29, Young scored 49 points, including 21 points in the fourth quarter, in a 105–104 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers. On January 23, 2020, he was selected for the NBA All-Star selection as a backcourt starter. On January 26, Young recorded 45 points and 14 assists in a 152–133 win against the Washington Wizards. Young wore No. 8 in the first eight seconds of the game in memory of Kobe Bryant, just hours after his death in a California helicopter crash. Four days later, he posted 39 points and a career-high 18 assists en route to a 127–117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On February 9, Young registered 48 points and 13 assists in 47 minutes in a 140–135 double overtime win over the New York Knicks. On February 20, Young scored a career-high 50 points in a 129–124 win against the Miami Heat, hitting 8-of-15 three pointers. On February 19, 2020, Bleacher Report named Young the worst defensive point guard in the NBA.

2020–21 season: Eastern Conference finals appearance

On December 23, 2020, Young put up 37 points, seven assists and six rebounds, in a 124–104 season-opening win over the Chicago Bulls. On May 23, 2021, he made his NBA playoff debut, posting 32 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists against the New York Knicks, capping it off with a game-winning floater with 0.9 seconds left in regulation to lift the Hawks to a 107–105 victory in game 1 of the first round. Young also joined LeBron James, Chris Paul and Derrick Rose as the only players in league history to record 30 points and 10 assists in their playoff debuts. In a 109–106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in game 5 of the conference semifinals, Young put up 39 points, 7 assists and 3 steals leading the Hawks to a 26-point comeback victory. In game 7 of the conference semifinals, Young put up 21 points to lead the Hawks past the 76ers en route to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2015. In game 1 of the conference finals, Young dropped a playoff career-high 48 points, alongside 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 116–113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Young missed games 4 and 5 due to a bone bruise in his right foot. Young returned in game 6, but the Hawks lost 118–107, ending their season.

On August 3, 2021, Young agreed to a five-year max extension with the Hawks with $172 million guaranteed and potentially up to $207 million.