Trae Young is Ridiculously Underrated

[Baseline81]

Unfortunately for Young, the game is played on both ends of the court.

[Jamaaliver]

Luka has a very clean statistical case for top 5.

Apparently we're not allowed to consider statistics...for some reason.

There's more to the game than just statistics.

[H2tObes]

Just for fun lets compare Trae to other young PGs in the league...

Point guards with seasons of 4 or more turnovers a game?

0 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

LaMelo
Ja
Hali
Fox

1 season with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

2 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

3 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

4 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

You want to look at A/TO ratio, TS%, and assist% (Trae led the league in that in his age 23 season btw). These stats do a better job painting the picture. Trae Young is actually very good but is disliked because of his pompous attitude while looking like a lint covered lollipop

[Tor_Raps]

Luka has a very clean statistical case for top 5.

Apparently we're not allowed to consider statistics...for some reason.

There's more to the game than just statistics.

Consider statistics all you want but basing your entire decision on it is shortsided. The fact I have to explain this says a lot lol.

[JustBuzzin]

Trae Young is not on the same level as Luka. Luka is without a doubt top 5 player in the league. I dont think Young is top 10.

What makes Luka a top 5 player?

Where is the MVP or the Finals appearance?

You don't get the elite of the elite title until you accomplish something of significance.


Sorry but Luka is a top 10 player with potential to be a top 5 player.

Luka has a very clean statistical case for top 5.

The MVP knock is fair. He was 5th in '22, 6th in '21 MVP, and 8th in '23 voting. Jokic, Embiid, Giannis,..Steph, KD, and Lebron are well past their prime at this stage,...so is Harden...so is Kawhi...Tatum has had much better teams every season.

Did you watch both Mavs vs. Clippers series? That was the Clippers at full power. It's all jokes now but Kawhi and PG at the top of their games with help, and Luka is somehow (arguably) the best player in the series both times. Those were top 5 player performances. Full stop.

The Finals knock isn't fair. He hasn't had the teams and the west is loaded every year. Luka has a decent case for top 5.

At no point and time were Kawhi and PG ever healthy.

The fact you're making your case for Luka beating the Clippers tells me all I need to know.

Luka is great but he can't be a top 5 player with nothing on his resume to back that up.

People got on LeBron for years and was making the Finals consistently. Luka is the best of the best and he hasn't sniffed a Finals.

Seems like we hold American players to a higher standard.

[JustBuzzin]

There's more to the game than just statistics. If that were the case then Karl Anthony Towns is one of the greatest big men in history lol.

With comments like this I don't think I can take you seriously. The fact you even brought up Kat and his stats is crazy. His stats aren't even that great. To begin with. Dude acting like Kat was putting up Shaq numbers.

Hes had multiple years of averaging 25/11 on great percentages so I have no clue wtf you're talking about lol. Compare his 25/11 to other big men and you'd think he's close to their level but we all know the truth.

I don't think you realize Kat is a joke to me. I watched this dude in the playoffs just jack up 3's early in the shotclock. He is the JR Smith of bigs and has one of the lowest IQ's in basketball.

Kat is a joke! Kat stats are a joke!

[JustBuzzin]

While I agree that Trae is massively underrated, that's a ridiculous statement lol. Give Luka Trae's teammates and I think they could win it all.

WTF!

You seriously think Collins/Capella and role players was a legit roster?

Nobody had the Hawks in ECF that year.


It's crazy how much people try to defend Luka. Give Trae Young a teammate like Kyrie and let's see how far the Hawks get.

I was referring to last years team with Murray/Hunter/Capela/Collins.

And I give Trae his credit for carrying that particular team to the conference finals, which is why I said he is massively underrated. He just isn't close to Luka and if you think they're on the same level, you're the one who doesn't understand the sport you're watching lol.

Lmao buddy act like that is a great supporting cast. They basically traded Collins away for nothing.

Murray is a nice little guard but he's nothing special if he's your 2nd best player. Capela is a lob threat nothing else. You gotta come better than that my man.

[shangrila]

Best passing guard in the league?

Read on Twitter

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Can you explain what some of these stats represent and how they're calculated?

[VanWest82]

Luka has a very clean statistical case for top 5.

Apparently we're not allowed to consider statistics...for some reason.

There's more to the game than just statistics.

Consider statistics all you want but basing your entire decision on it is shortsided. The fact I have to explain this says a lot lol.

Stats do tell us a lot. For instance, Trae was only 22nd in OEPM last year despite the impressive volume, but we've also seen him carry a #2 ranked offense (21/22) that fell off by 10 points per 100 when he sat.

I'd say he's overrated by his raw statistics, but has become underrated in some circles for his ability to carry an elite offense.

[Jamaaliver]

Consider statistics all you want but basing your entire decision on it is shortsided. The fact I have to explain this says a lot lol.

If we aren't evaluating a player's value on production -- what are we basing it on?

[Tor_Raps]

With comments like this I don't think I can take you seriously. The fact you even brought up Kat and his stats is crazy. His stats aren't even that great. To begin with. Dude acting like Kat was putting up Shaq numbers.

Hes had multiple years of averaging 25/11 on great percentages so I have no clue wtf you're talking about lol. Compare his 25/11 to other big men and you'd think he's close to their level but we all know the truth.

I don't think you realize Kat is a joke to me. I watched this dude in the playoffs just jack up 3's early in the shotclock. He is the JR Smith of bigs and has one of the lowest IQ's in basketball.

Kat is a joke! Kat stats are a joke!

That is my whole point man. Statistics can mislead you if you completely rely on them lol.

Again, love Trae but he is not on Luka's level and it's not even debatable.

[Jamaaliver]

Again, love Trae but he is not on Luka's level and it's not even debatable.

Agree to disagree -- Trae has a case as the best passer/playmaker in the league.

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

[Scalabrine]

I agree. Trae Young isn't a good defender by any means but the top PGs in the league aren't either. Luka, Steph, and Dame are all liabilities on defense many nights. Now Trae isn't as good as them but he's still a damn good player. He basically ruined the Embiid and Simmons led Philly team. No matter how bad Simmons played, if they go on to beat the Hawks, which they should have, that team might still be together today competing in the Eastern Conference but Trae took it to them and the rest is history. He also went into the Garden in the playoffs and silenced a very hostile crowd. Can he improve in efficiency and turnovers? Certainly but he's still big time imo

I don't think Steph is a liability defensively compared to his peers. He can get picked on because he's usually one of the smallest guys on the court, but compared to other guys his size, he's not bad, especially when you consider the load he carries offensively. Compare that to Trae, who is probably the worst defender in the league... I don't know... I just don't think people enjoy playing with him, I think it's really hard to build around him, and I think he's rated appropriately.

[Tor_Raps]

Again, love Trae but he is not on Luka's level and it's not even debatable.

Agree to disagree -- Trae has a case as the best passer/playmaker in the league.

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Hes definitely up there but need to see better efficiency and for him to give a crap on the defensive end to get to the next level.

[Ito]

Hold up trae young wanted to play? How they constructing these teams he’s better than any player they had on the team this year we wouldn’t have had to settle for bronze that makes no type of sense if a star player wants to participate then he should automatically be allowed to play

[wco81]

Trae may end up in the HoF if he plays long enough and puts up numbers.

Does the HoF care about efficiency or raw numbers? If he averages 30 PPG for a few seasons but shoots 43/35, will it matter or just the bottom line average is enough?

He may never have great playoffs success. His shooting drops from 43.7/35.1 to 40.2/29.7. Some of that may be that he doesn't have a strong enough supporting cast, as he's taking more FGAs and 3PAs.


But he's the # 1 option on the Hawks in both regular and postseason. He's going to get the most shots and will lead the team to at least the Play-In.

Maybe he gets insanely hot and they win two series again.

Does he have to put up elite numbers in the post season to be considered "ridiculously underrated" or will just getting there and scoring well but having to put up a lot of shots be good enough?

[sk8wrulz]

Just for fun lets compare Trae to other young PGs in the league...

Point guards with seasons of 4 or more turnovers a game?

0 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

LaMelo
Ja
Hali
Fox

1 season with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

2 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

3 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

4 seasons with 4 or more turnovers a game:

Young

How about Conference Finals reached?
LaMelo
Ja
Hali
Fox

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

[CP War Hawks]

I agree. Trae Young isn't a good defender by any means but the top PGs in the league aren't either. Luka, Steph, and Dame are all liabilities on defense many nights. Now Trae isn't as good as them but he's still a damn good player. He basically ruined the Embiid and Simmons led Philly team. No matter how bad Simmons played, if they go on to beat the Hawks, which they should have, that team might still be together today competing in the Eastern Conference but Trae took it to them and the rest is history. He also went into the Garden in the playoffs and silenced a very hostile crowd. Can he improve in efficiency and turnovers? Certainly but he's still big time imo

I don't think Steph is a liability defensively compared to his peers. He can get picked on because he's usually one of the smallest guys on the court, but compared to other guys his size, he's not bad, especially when you consider the load he carries offensively. Compare that to Trae, who is probably the worst defender in the league... I don't know... I just don't think people enjoy playing with him, I think it's really hard to build around him, and I think he's rated appropriately.

Steph has had some great defenses built around him. Steph ain't out there locking down his counterpart, he just concentrates on hitting big shots and keeping the offense clean. Snyder jumped at the opportunity to coach Trae when he could've waited and gotten just about any big job this summer including Milwaukee.

Trae has never had a legit 2nd all star caliber teammate. He carried that Nate Mcmillian coached team to the ecf. You can't even name the 2nd best player on that team w/o looking up stats cause it was all role players. The new GM regime is clearing up spots for more versatile players.

[Scalabrine]

Again, love Trae but he is not on Luka's level and it's not even debatable.

Agree to disagree -- Trae has a case as the best passer/playmaker in the league.

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Hes definitely up there but need to see better efficiency and for him to give a crap on the defensive end to get to the next level.

The problem is, even if he does give a crap, he's just way to small and not strong enough. He's just at a physical disadvantage beyond effory.