Doc Rivers says Trae Young has ‘earned the trust of his players’
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Doc Rivers says Trae Young has ‘earned the trust of his players’

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

  • Tim MacMahon, ESPN staff writerDecember 13, 2024, 7:29 p.m. ET

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    • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
    • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
    • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

LAS VEGAS – Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers sees a drastic difference in Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young this season.

“He’s earned the trust of his players,” Rivers said after the Bucks practiced Friday at T-Mobile Arena in preparation for their game against the Hawks in the NBA Cup semifinals. “This team enjoys playing with him. That’s obvious. I couldn’t say that before, but now they like playing with him.”

Young, 26, is a three-time All-Star who led the Hawks to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. However, he was frequently criticized as a poor defender and was often portrayed unfavorably as a teammate.

Young, who is averaging a league-leading 21.0 points and 12.2 assists, indicated Friday that he believes the negative aspects of his reputation are unfair.

“The narrative that I can’t do certain things or I’m too angry or frustrated about certain things is — I mean, it’s just not true,” Young said. “I think you can just see what a young team we have, just some of the different things we’ve done this year. I think you’re just starting to see it because of the results show and we’re now winning in the Final Four of the Cup and that’s a big deal.

“I think that’s why you see it and understand it, but I’ve always been like that.”

The Hawks have a young core led by All-Star prospect Jalen Johnson, rookie No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and guard Dyson Daniels, who came as part of the trade return for Dejounte Murray, a former All-Star whose two-year partnership The campaign with Young produced no playoff series victories.

After a slow start, Atlanta has won seven of eight games, a streak that began with consecutive victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the NBA’s best record.

“When you win, everything else takes care of itself,” Young said. “That’s pretty much what’s happening right now.”

Rivers said it was clear from Young’s play that the guard “really studied the game on both ends of the court.” He particularly praised Young for disguising his defensive limitations by finding ways to stay out of the action when teams targeted him through communication and substitutions.

“When we talk to Trae and about Trae, I like to use the word evolution,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Every player continues to develop. They just evolve in different ways. He has been an important part of the development of our young players and his ability to develop them. As a team, not just Trae, we all have to do our part defensively and he is doing that.”

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