At just 25 years old, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young has become the team’s all-time assists leader.
Amassing 3,868 assists in 407 games, Young passed former NBA guard Doc Rivers in career assists in the Hawks’ regular season finale against. Poetically, Young’s record-breaking assist went to Dejounte Murray. While the Hawks believe that they’re in an either-or scenario with Young and Murray, the two have consistently touted their friendship off the court. Indeed, Young and Murray coordinated the play that led to the former’s record from the scorer’s table.
Following the game, Young spoke about being the Hawks’ new assists leader.
“It’s a blessing to be a part of it,” Young says. “Assists is not just me. I’ve had some really good teammates over the years to be able to break this type of record so quick. So, I’ve got a lot of love for my teammates who I’ve given an assist to.”
In the 2023-24 regular season, Young averaged a career-high 10.8 assists per game. Had injuries not limited him to 54 games this season, Young may have broken the record by Feb. 29.
Trae Young
Young was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Traded to Hawks in exchange for No. 3 pick Luka Doncic on draft night. Originally compared to Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry due to his size and shooting range, Young has shown early on that his best skill is playmaking.
As a rookie, Young took 6.0 three-point attempts per game but shot just 32.4 percent from 3. However, he averaged 8.1 assists per game, the fourth-highest mark in the league. A creative floor general with upper-level court vision, Young is on pace to be top-25 in career assists by the time he’s 31.
Doc Rivers
A 13-year veteran that played in Atlanta his first eight seasons, Rivers recorded 3,866 career assists in 568 games.
Now a veteran head coach, Rivers puts his basketball IQ to use on the sidelines instead of in-between the lines. The 62-year-old has won 1,114 regular season games, the eighth most in NBA history. Leading the Boston Celtics to a championship in 2008, Rivers has 111 playoff wins, the fourth-most in NBA history.
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