Trae Young is calling a spade a spade when it comes to the lack of recognition that his team gets.
The Atlanta Hawks star sounded off on Thursday before the team tipped off their season against the Dallas Mavericks.
“I don’t think we get the respect that we deserve,” said Young, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “I watch a lot of TV. I see people mentioning all of the acquisitions everyone is getting. No one’s mentioning us. The Milwaukee vs. Brooklyn game, they mentioned how they were in the Eastern Finals. It was just mind-blowing.”
Indeed, Atlanta had one of the most slept-on conference finals appearances last season. They downed the New York Knicks in a memorable first-round series, took care of business against the heavily-favored Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, and pushed the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks to the brink in the conference finals with a hobbled Young (though Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was also slowed by injury). The Hawks then retained their entire core this offseason and added some solid bench pieces in Delon Wright and Gorgui Dieng. Still, very few project Atlanta to be a top-tier team in the East again this season.
Young, who averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game last season, is the engine that makes the Hawks go. While he has earned notoriety in certain corners of the league, Young clearly wants the NBA world to do a better job of listening to what the South has got to say.
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