Watch: NBA Rookie Trae Young Nails an Insane Game-Winning Shot
Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young came into the NBA with a lot of hype.
The 6-foot-2 sharpshooter, who led the nation in scoring as just a freshman at Oklahoma last year, drew comparisons to Golden State superstar Steph Curry for his prowess as a shooter.
In a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, Young showed off some of that ridiculous range, draining a 30-footer with 2.2 seconds left to give the Hawks a 130-127 win.
G O O D N I G H T#TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/yuwfpiY2gz
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 11, 2018
Spurs guard Bryn Forbes didn’t think Young would shoot from the middle of the Georgia Tech logo, but he did, and he made it.
Now, it’s just a preseason game, but for a team that didn’t have a lot to cheer about in a 24-58 campaign last year, Young is a breath of fresh air. He’s averaging 16 points per game in four preseason games.
Young dropped 22 points with seven assists and two steals in 30 minutes Wednesday night.
“I knew we were tied,” Young told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the game. “If I made it, it was good. If I missed it, we were going into overtime. I just wanted to make sure it was the last shot we put up.”
*Me trying to keep my Trae Young expectations in check***
Trae: 👇🏼
Also me: TRAE YOUNG IS THE NEXT STEPH CURRY. BOOMER SOONER. THE HAWKS ARE A SLEEPER IN THE EAST. pic.twitter.com/0uWatz8TlS
— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) October 11, 2018
Coach Lloyd Pierce joked that it was just like he drew it up.
“We call it Trae dribble down and shoot,” Pierce told The Journal-Constitution. “It was just an in-between situation. There were 15, 16 seconds left on the clock and trying to get organized on the fly. We didn’t have any timeouts left and Trae has done that. He was probably waiting for that moment to let one fly.”
Young was the fifth pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks, but he was traded to the Hawks, along with a protected first-round pick in 2019, for the No. 3 pick, Luka Doncic.
He led the nation in scoring last year at Oklahoma with 27.4 points per game, but what gets overlooked is his passing ability.
Trae Young got the @ATLHawks acting different 👀 pic.twitter.com/7YUVeS9cwH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 6, 2018
Some forget that he also led the nation in assists last year with 8.7 per game.
Whether he’s the next Steph Curry or simply the first Trae Young remains to be seen. But it looks like fans in Atlanta have a reason for optimism.
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