Can Trae Young take the next step to become an MVP candidate?

Could Atlanta Hawks budding superstar Trae Young take the next step in his progression and become an NBA MVP candidate?

Trae Young has certainly come into his own very quickly within his first two years in the NBA despite the skepticism surrounding him as a prospect coming out of Oklahoma. The general consensus about such a prolific offensive player such as Young was that he was essentially a boom or bust prospect.

Yes, he has the ceiling to be the next Stephen Curry, but he could also end up becoming Trey Burke. It’s still very early in his career, but I think it’s safe to say that Trae has put the bust concerns to rest.

After a slow start to his rookie year, to end up averaging roughly 19 and eight as a first-year player is impressive in its own right. We take note of the fairly dismal field goal percentage sitting at about 42 percent and his supposed marksman 3-ball coming in at 32.4 percent, but also realize that for a rookie with that high of a usage rate this shouldn’t be too concerning.

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Being only 13 games into his second season he’s already improved these numbers to 44 percent and 36 percent respectively while maintaining his dime dropping tendencies at 8.8 assists per contest. The fact that he’s already averaging nearly 27 and confidently pulling up from the Pistons logo as a second-year player is an evidence that the game is slowing down for Trae.

Despite his impressive efforts, the Hawks record remains rather sub-par though they’re obviously improved from last season. The truth is that as Trae goes, so do the Hawks, but in spite of this you simply can’t be expected to win a lot of games if your roster is full of rookies and injured players. Starting two rookies (still perplexed as to why the red rider wasn’t the starting 2 guard prior to his injury) in De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, along with John Collins catching a blindsiding suspension, they’re undoubtedly going to struggle for a bit.

All of these players though, aside from maybe the shooting numbers we’ve seen from Reddish so far, have promising futures and in a way mimic other successful franchisees who have built great teams organically through the draft. Though the Hawks will definitely need to look to add veteran talent in the next couple of offseasons, building through the draft is the best tactic for a team that has historically struggled to bring in big-name free agents.

The solution to this is of course to make your own big-name players, and it appears ATL finally has one of those in Trae. The next question he’ll have to answer is, first, can he maintain this, and, secondly, can he become an MVP candidate within a few years?

In order for the Hawks to finally escape the reputation of being a tough out in the playoffs, they’re going to need to have that superstar caliber player. Trae is obviously not that yet, but he’s unquestionably working his way toward star status in this league if he keeps this up.

How does he get there, though? It’s a fairly simple recipe for him at this point. With his offensive explosiveness, unending range, and aesthetically pleasing dimes and vision, the most important thing is to maintain that ability because it’s his best and most unique asset. Trae is an offensive player no doubt, but obviously this is basketball and not football, so every player is required to be a two-way one.

He’s consistently clocked about a 115 defensive rating, which is…not great and we should never expect Young to be an elite defender with his body type and offensive skillset. The key would be just to be a competent and intuitive defender, just don’t be a turnstile. He’s already shown improvements in the area of steals and simply intellect as he picks up on player tendencies and spends more time in the league, but there’s obviously a long way to go.

All of this in mind and the bust label long gone, the future gets increasingly brighter and brighter the more we watch him play. Being as Trae Young is only 21, I believe Georgia sports fans finally have a star on their hands that isn’t a football player for once. With the new management in place, Trae, John, and a myriad of other young assets, the Hawks’ future hasn’t looked this bright in decades.