Trae Young craves for more after five seasons: "I want more for myself"

With five NBA seasons under his belt, Atlanta Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young said there is still more he wants to achieve and vowed to work to put himself in a better position to claim them.

Selected fifth overall in the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks, who later traded him to the Hawks for Luka Doncic, Young has steadily established himself as one of the bright young stars in the league. He is known for his ability to create shots not only for himself but also his teammates with ease.

Such skill set has earned him the moniker ‘Ice Trae.’

Heading into the ongoing NBA season, the former Oklahoma Sooner has compiled averages of 25.5 points, 9.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and a steal. In the process, he also earned All-Star selection twice in 2020 and 2022 and an All-NBA Third Team nod in 2022.

While he has achieved significant in-roads in his young NBA career, Trae Young shared that he is still developing as a player and knows that there is more to conquer moving forward.

The 35-year-old Texas native told the Point Forward podcast:

"I've learned to appreciate every moment and accolade we get... At the same time, I haven't reached the heights that I wanted to in my 5 years... I want more for myself and my teammates."

In the ongoing NBA season, Young is once again leading the charge for the Hawks, although they have found it hard to fully soar, currently sporting a 14-21 record, 12th in the Eastern Conference.

But the All-Star guard remains a bright spot, with average of 27.8 points and 11 assists in 36.4 minutes.

Atlanta has lost back-to-back matches and will return to action on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers at home.

---

Hawks coach praises Trae Young for willingness to improve and coached

Trae Young has been a steady source of offense since arriving in Atlanta six years ago. But for Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, another quality of their All-Star point guard often overlooked is his willingness to improve on his craft and be coached.

Snyder served to highlight this in one of his interviews back in December, sharing to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press:

“You can’t evaluate a player’s performance necessarily based on their stat line. That’s particularly true when you have a playmaker or a leader on the court.”

“Let me say this: We have a tendency to put Trae under a microscope and that’s a credit to who he is as a player. And that’s a good challenge for him. ... Players want to improve and they want to be coached.”

Notwithstanding their current struggles, Trae Young remains committed to what they want to accomplish collectively as a team.