Hawks' Trae Young deserves kudos for allowing Jalen Johnson to shine

Trae Young has had as big of a green light as any hooper in the last decade. As a freshman at Oklahoma, he attempted a whopping 19.3 shots per game, which is almost unheard of in college basketball. 

He brought that gunner mentality into the NBA, averaging 18.6 shots a game through his first six seasons (2018-19 to 2023-24). During those six years, only Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker attempted more total shots in the NBA.

This season, though, Young's FGA has dropped to 16.5 a game, which ranks 34th in the league. Among his Hawks teammates, Young is attempting only 0.7 shots more than Jalen Johnson (15.8) while allowing Dyson Daniels (12.8), De'Andre Hunter (12.6) and rookie Zaccharie Risacher (10.4) to all attempt double-digit shots every night. 

Furthermore, Young's USG% (26.2) ranks 61st in the league — a monumental drop for a player whose USG% was among the top 15 in each of his first six seasons and peaked at James Harden-esque numbers of 33.3 and 31.3 in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, respectively.  

Young's evolution into a more unselfish player has been critical to not only Atlanta's 12-11 start but Johnson's growth into an All-Star-caliber player.

During Wednesday's 119-104 win in Milwaukee, Young had a horrid shooting night, going 6-of-19 from the floor and 0-of-9 from deep. Yet, the Hawks escaped with the win by riding on Johnson's 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.