Atlanta Hawks: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season
5. Trae Young raises the bar
Week 20 was huge for Trae Young. It was probably the best five-day stretch of his rookie season against the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls, as he appeared to be competing against himself. The Bulls game included quadruple-overtime, but we’ll get to that game later.
This five-day stretch of outstanding performances started on Feb. 25 against the Rockets.
❄️ @TheTraeYoung pours in a career-high 36 PTS, 8 3PM for the @ATLHawks in Houston! #NBARooks #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/AkNZy9bGsj
— NBA (@NBA) February 26, 2019
Young was on fire thanks to his 8-of-12 shooting from deep, easily his best percentage of the season when attempting five or more 3-pointers. He tallied eight assists as well.
Then, two nights later, Young put up 36 points again, this time against the Timberwolves.
On this night, he wasn’t as deadly from beyond the arc (2-for-5), but he made 16 of his 17 free throws. Young’s final line ranks as one of the best five games of his rookie season according to Basketball Reference’s Game Score metric, as he finished just two assists shy of a triple-double.
Young’s stretch of games that week caught a lot of public attention, vaulting him to the top of the contenders for the Rookie of the Year award.