Trae Young (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young is one of the best players in the NBA, but he's always been compared to one specific player – Golden State Warriors sharp shooter Stephen Curry.
Young and Curry are very similar players in that they're both undersized – Young is 6-foot-1 and 164 pounds while Curry is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds – and are absolutely deadly when it comes to shooting the ball beyond the arc. Curry is widely regarded as the best three-point shooter ever, while Young is one of the best shooters in the NBA, having ranked within the top six in 3-point field goals made on two different occasions, converting on over 200 3-pointers twice in his career.
However, Curry is obviously in a league of his own when it comes to three-point shooting. He has led the league in 3-point shooting on a record eight different occasions in a single season and is the league's all-time leader in 3-pointers made. That's not even mentioning how he owns the NCAA's single-season record for treys made (162).
The 26-year-old Young is on the verge of entering his seventh season with the Hawks. While the sharpshooting guard is obviously among the top players in the NBA, even he admits that Curry – not himself – is the best 3-point shooter in the league when asked.
"I'm not going to say myself over Steph," says Young on behalf of his partnership with BodyArmor in a one-on-one interview with RG. "That's just the respect – it's just a fact."
Young has made a name for himself with his ability to convert long-range jumpers and his crafty skills with the ball, becoming the only player in NCAA history to lead in both points and assists in a single season during his career at Oklahoma.
The three-time All-Star says that while he looked up to Curry while growing up – the four-time NBA champion entered the league when Young was 11 years old – it was former Phoenix Suns guard and two-time MVP Steve Nash that he most idolized.
"I looked up to Steph, he's a lot younger than Steve [Nash]," says Young. "I went to a game when Davidson played a game against Oklahoma in Norman, so I think I was probably in middle school. That was the year Steph really blew up. I've been a fan of Steph ever since, but I grew up idolizing Steve Nash."
Young's ability to handle the basketball while utilizing crossover moves to create shooting space against defenders or to give him a pathway to the basket is similar to Nash’s. However, his ability to create space while shooting long-range 3-point shots is eerily similar to Curry’s.
The former All-NBA selection explains that his mindset when watching Nash play was to model his game and take it to "another level."
"The way he played and got everybody involved and could score on every level, I just wanted to kind of take his game to another level," says Young. "The way I was shooting the ball in college, everybody kind of latched me on with Steph."
And while Young will inevitably be compared to Curry for as long as he plays, he's never been one to get caught up in the comparisons.
"I don't really get caught up into it as much as fans do," says Young. "It's a good motivation for me to reach and strive for as he's probably the best point guard to play. That's definitely the area I want to be when I'm done playing."
Young and Curry also have in common the desire to lead their teams back into the playoffs. Last year, the Hawks missed the playoffs after three consecutive postseason appearances, while the Warriors missed the playoffs after two consecutive appearances.
Young makes sure to mention that this season's objective is to make it back to the playoffs. One of the key players in helping the Hawks do so is No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher. The French import made a name for himself as a 6-foot-9 catch-and-shoot player, making 88 appearances as a pro since he was 16 years old in the LNB Elite – the top men's professional basketball league in France – and EuroLeague.
One of Young's first impressions of Risacher is that he's "taller" than his listed height and has "a lot of skill."
The Hawks will open up their preseason slate at home on Oct. 8 against the Indiana Pacers and their regular season opener on Oct. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.
DJ Siddiqi
