Trae Young claps back at 0 dunks in NBA career, citing his prolific scoring

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young may score most of his points from 3-point range, but that doesn't mean he can't score inside. Young has developed his scoring prowess as one of the NBA's best shooters. In his young career, the Hawks guard has shot 35.4% from deep, which isn't that much impressive. But his average of almost 7.5 attempts per game makes his percentage reasonable.

At 6-foot-1, Young's size makes it difficult for him to score inside the 3-point arc. That's why he's made a career of being a threat from outside. This season alone, the former University of Oklahoma star is making 37.1% of his shots from long range.

Since entering the league in 2018, Young has never recorded a single dunk. Not even during a fastbreak opportunity, where guards who don't usually get a ton of chances to dunk, like Steph Curry. But he can still be a threat inside.

Shorter guards like Young tend to develop their floater shot. It's an effective way of scoring over towering big men. In the past, former San Antonio Spurs star guard Tony Parker outdid big men with his floater game.

Young is doing the same and doesn't see it as a disadvantage. On X, he showed off his impressive scoring wits by recording 1,021 floaters, making him a threat inside the 3.

"A bucket is a bucket... don't forget that kids," Young tweeted.

Young is correct: A bucket is indeed a bucket. There have been stars who entered the NBA that weren't threats inside as they were vertically challenged or didn't have freakish athleticism. But that didn't stop them from scoring in different ways in a league full of giants.

---

Trae Young reached a historic scoring feat early in 2024

As one of the league's prolific scorers, reaching the 10,000-point mark was a significant achievement for Trae Young. On Jan. 15, when the Hawks defeated the San Antonio Spurs, Young scored his 10,000th career point. He was reportedly the 10th youngest NBA star to reach the scoring feat.

The three-time All-Star also became the youngest player to have 10,000 points, 3,500 assists and 1,000 3-pointers. These numbers are proof that Young is a special talent in the league.

Before Young, five other players recorded 10,000 points, 3,500 assists and 1,000 3-pointers. They were Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Baron Davis, Tim Hardaway and Damian Lillard. But the Hawks guard outdid all of them as he played fewer games, making him the fastest to achieve such a feat.

Recommended Video

Guess the Lakers players!