Hawks All-Star Trae Young frustrated over new NBA rules

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Hawks All-Star Trae Young on new NBA rules: 'There's a lot of missed calls'

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 10/29/21

When the NBA decided to crack down on players performing "non-basketball" moves in order to draw contact this season, both analysts and fans expected Brooklyn Nets star James Harden to be one of, if not the most, impacted players by the new twist. Perhaps the second-most targeted star in the league was thought to be Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young, and the early returns seem to be favoring that argument.

While he's still averaging a double-double of 24.2 points and 10.0 assists per game through his team's first five games, one of Young's primary offensive advantages in getting to the free-throw line at a high rate has diminished thus far. It's still very early in the 82-game regular season slate, but the former fifth-overall pick is currently averaging a career-low 4.4 free throw attempts per game.

"I don't want to get fined too much, but it's frustrating," Young said. "There's a lot of missed calls. ... It's basketball. It's just, it feels that they're learning, and they're just -- I don't know. It's frustrating."

In the last two seasons, Young has ranked fourth and third in the NBA in free-throw attempts at 559 and 546, respectively. Shooting at a career 86.2% free throw clip, Young's free-throw make totals of 343, 481 and 484 over his first three NBA seasons have placed him 20th, second and first, respectively.

He's due for some positive regression in the coming weeks, and he, Harden and others will likely adjust to the new lack of calls, but it's hard to see him leading the NBA in free throws again this season. Though he's only taken 22 shots from the charity stripe so far, Young has been nearly perfect, making 21 of them.

"I saw James said it's about him, but it's not targeting just one player or two players," Young said.

Young pointed to fellow stud guards Damian Lillard and Devin Booker as two other players who are seemingly being impacted by the changes. Lillard is currently averaging 4.5 free-throw tries per game through four contests -- which is his lowest figure since his rookie season -- while Booker stands at 3.5 attempts per game, which is his lowest number since his rookie year as well.

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