Atlanta Hawks: Bold predictions for the 2020-2021 season

4. Trae Young will lead the league in assists.

In his lone college season, Trae Young averaged 27.4 points and 8.7 assists per game en route to becoming the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring and assists in a single season as a freshman season playing for the Oklahoma Sooners.

As a rookie in the NBA, Trae Young was fourth in the league in assists per game (8.1), and as a sophomore last season, we saw an uptick in that department as Young averaged 9.3 assists per game, good for second in the league trailing only LeBron James (10.2). His 560 total assists on the season ranked third in the NBA behind James, who also led the league in that category (684) and second-place Ricky Rubio (570).

For as a good a scorer that Trae Young is (he averaged 29.6 points per game last season), he was born to pass. He grew up studying and idolizing Steve Nash and has the innate ability to set his teammates up for an easy basket and anticipate the defense to pass his guys open, something only the elite passers are capable of. Never one to lack creativity, Young has proven he has the ability to pass over and around taller and longer defenders, despite being a mere 6’1” tall.

Let’s look at the play below as an example, with Young being guarded by the much taller Nikola Vucevic. He uses his eyes to make the defender think he’s going to pass to the perimeter, but he slips a bounce pass between the legs to a cutting Capela for an easy layup.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1337569711563939840?s=09

We’ve seen what Young could do with a mediocre supporting cast that was mostly trying to find their way in the NBA just as he was. Now that he has a true rim-running big man and is flanked by knockdown shooters, the sky is the limit for Young.

With the current roster makeup combined with his superior passing ability and unselfishness, Young has the potential to lead the league in assists and be the first point guard in 25 years to average north of 12 assists per game for a full season.

Since the NBA-ABA merger, only four players have been able to average at least 12 assists for an entire season, three of which are in the Hall of Fame. At just 22 years old, Young has the chance to join elite company and once again make history in his young NBA career.