Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) brings the ball up court against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Patrick Beverley Doubles Down on Trae Young Criticism

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 11:42 PM ET

Trae Young responded to Patrick Beverley on Wednesday night with a 12-minute video on social media, making several points to defend his stance against the former NBA veteran.

On Thursday night, Beverley clapped back. Taking a page out of Trae Young’s book, Beverley sat at his home desk with a microphone in front of him, outside of his usual podcast setting. Beverley’s rebuttal was nearly nine minutes.

Once again, Beverley called out Young’s leadership in throughout his rant.

“If I'm working out in Houston, James Harden is in Houston working out, not James Harden is working out at another place,” Beverley said.

“Every time we see you, you're working out at another place. We never see you in the Hawks’ arena working out. What teammate, what leader? Like, I come to the Lakers’ facility, LeBron is there five o'clock in the morning, I come to the Milwaukee Bucks facility to get my work in, Greek Is there already. James Harden has been there practicing, and he gonna come back that night. You're the only person we see on the internet, never at your practice facility. That's real. You're not a great leader.”

Since 2018, Young has been a face of the Hawks’ franchise. They acquired the fifth pick from the Dallas Mavericks to take on the Oklahoma star. Right out of the gate, Young was dropping 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game in 81 starts.

Rookies typically dont enter the NBA with the leadership gene, it’s something that develops over time. For Young, he landed on a Hawks team that was in the midst of a rebuild. He was the go-to guy from the gate. It would have to take a former teammate of Young’s to step in and confirm whether Beverley is correct or not. For now, it’s just the former defensive standout’s word against Young’s.

And Beverley claims to have hope that his words inspire Young to be a better leader moving forward.

“Can you be a great leader? Yes, you can. Will it take this? Probably so!” Beverley said.

“I hope this is motivating. I hope that you get to the end of the year and you're fighting for a [expletive] playoff spot. I hope that this is so [expletive] motivating that this takes you to the Eastern Conference [Finals]. Trust me, I like to see you at halfcourt shivering them little [expletive] shoulders, right? Don’t get it twisted, Trae. Don’t get it twisted when you talk about that, and basketball. These are facts. You don’t win.”

At this point, both sides got their thoughts off their chest. Whether Young will have another response or not is unclear. Either way, it’s clear that there is a major disconnect between the two NBA veterans.