Trae Young is held to a different standard than the rest of the NBA

“I think back on that quote that I was talking about, when Kevin Durant said he thinks the six-foot point guard might be coming to an end,” he paused, “and this is what I think he was talking about.” Shumpert continued. “Yes, Trae Young statistically, what he brings to a game of basketball, I get it. At 6’2″, it’s tough to say, could he switch onto a five at the end of a game? Can he guard a bigger guard? What are the other things he can do besides score it? Can he make a two-guard a scoring champion?”

Groupthink and hot takes are killing sports analysis. Trae Young is arguably the best playmaker in the NBA, leading the Association in assists this past season and averaging over 10 assists per game for three seasons in a row.

Hell, just a couple of weeks ago, Marcus Morris said on ESPN’s First Take that Trae Young “just started passing the ball” last season, which is just obviously not true. Since entering the league, nobody has more total assists than Trae Young.

Shumpert’s assertion that Young’s defense caps the Hawks’ ceiling is completely absurd. There’s no traditional point guard in the NBA who can effectively switch onto a center. Even wings have a difficult time doing that.

While Young’s defense isn’t good by any means, it’s improved tremendously since entering the league when he was maybe the worst defender in the sport. The simple truth is that Trae Young won’t ever get the kind of respect he deserves until he reaches a championship, and it might not even happen then. He’s already been two games away from the NBA Finals. It might take raising the Larry O’Brien trophy to convince everyone he’s an immense talent.

This is the best roster Trae Young has ever played with, and the Hawks are expected to be a top 6 seed in a wide open Eastern Conference. But even if the season goes as everyone expects in Atlanta, critics will still find a way to minimize Trae Young’s accomplishments.