Author: Kevin L. Chouinard (@KLChouinard)
1) Trae did numbers and entered ‘Oscar Robertson Territory’
Young averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game in his first
NBA season. He led all rookies in total points (1549) and assists (653) while
finishing fifth in steals (72) and eighth in rebounds (301).
Young and Robertson (1960-61) are the only two rookies in NBA history to score
1500 or more points and hand out 600 or more assists. Young and Robertson are
also the only two rookies in league history to have seven or more games with 30+
points and 10+ assists.
2) Trae made more extra-long threes in a season than anyone in NBA history
Young successfully converted 24 of 68 of his shot attempts that measured between
30 and 40 feet (35.3 percent).
These shots are the ones with the potential to warp the geometry of opposing
defenses. If Young continues to make them with regularity, he will either (1)
continue to get wide-open shots from that distance, or (2) defenses will have to
bend far beyond their normal coverages, opening up valuable driving lanes for
Young.
Shot-distance data dates back to the 2000-01 season. Young is the first-ever
player to convert 20 or more shots in that shot range (Source: Basketball
Reference). In fact, the only players to make 10 or more such shots in a season
are Steph Curry (three times), Spencer Dinwiddie (2017-18) and Damian Lillard
(2018-19).
Not counted in those stats: Young’s 30-foot preseason bomb to break open a tie
game against the San Antonio Spurs at Georgia Tech in the game’s final seconds.
Teammate Taurean Prince called it his favorite moment of the season.
“If you go back and look at it, it looked like it was photoshopped,” Prince
said. “The ball went it. It was crazy. That was one of the moments where I was
like, ‘OK. We’ve got this. We’ve got this one for sure.’ ”
Speaking of which…
3) Trae came through in the clutch
Young made a ridiculous number of late-game shots in tense moments. Over a span
of nine days in March, Young hit a game-winning floater to seal a win over the
76ers and bounced in an impossible putback at the buzzer to clinch a win over
the Bucks.
Player: Trae Young
Media Content:
https://www.nba.com/hawks/eight-things-about-trae-youngs-2018-19-season
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Media Thumbnail: https://www.nba.com/hawks/sites/hawks/files/traestory_0.jpg
Taxonomy: Rookie, Story, NBA, rookie season, 2018-19
Story Link:
https://www.nba.com/hawks/eight-things-about-trae-youngs-2018-19-season
