Atlanta Hawks: 5 reasons Trae Young was a good pick
2. Young can score from anywhere
Considering the volume of shots Young took, he was actually pretty decent with his percentages. He shot 42.2 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from beyond the 3-point line. He’s not afraid to attack the rim either, as he averaged 8.6 free throw attempts per game; he made 86.1 percent of those free throw attempts as well.
Thanks to The Stepien, we can take a glance at Trae Young’s shot chart from last season. It doesn’t include four games though, which he shot just over 50 percent from the field, including the game against TCU where he hit 10 of his 18 3-pointers.
More from Atlanta Hawks
- 5 NBA players everyone should be keeping a close eye on in 2023-24
- NBA Trades: This Hawks-Mavericks deal is a winner for both teams
- NBA Trades: Atlanta forms a big three with this win-now deal with Toronto
- Grading the John Collins trade for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz
- NBA Rumors: Atlanta is pushing to add a third star in a major trade
But we do see some tendencies from Young with this chart. He doesn’t go to the corner on either side of the court too much to shoot 3s, staying “above the break,” where he attempted the most shots of anywhere else on the court (232). From this range, he hit 36.2 percent of his shots. When you combine his shots from the wings and above the break, it comes to 275 attempts; 236 were from behind the NBA’s 3-point line, hitting 35.59 percent of them.
All his mid-range shots are charted, but he only attempted 88 mid-range shots, hitting 38.6 percent of them. His best work was at the rim. Of the 172 shots he took near the basket, he made 51.2 percent of them.
His efficiency definitely needs work, but these are solid numbers given his 37.1 usage rate; the next closest draft prospect in usage rate was Colin Sexton at 32.9. Young could see an immediate jump in shooting percentage by just playing with NBA-caliber talent over college-level talent.