{"id":64158,"date":"2024-02-16T12:21:50","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T17:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=64158"},"modified":"2024-04-08T06:03:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T10:03:31","slug":"hawks-rajon-rondo-reveals-thoughts-unstoppable-trae-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/16\/hawks-rajon-rondo-reveals-thoughts-unstoppable-trae-young\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Champion Gives Take on \u2018Unstoppable\u2019 Hawks Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

Initially an All-Star snub, <\/a>Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young<\/a> may be one of the most underrated players in the NBA.<\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s if his near All-Star snub<\/a> has anything to say about it. A gifted playmaker with a knack for taking over in clutch moments, Young is averaging 26.7 points and 10.9 assists per game heading into All-Star Weekend. For reference, when Denver Nuggets focal point Nikola Jokic<\/a> won MVP in back-to-back seasons, he averaged 26.7 points and 8.1 assists per game in that stretch.<\/p>\n

With that show of disrespect, no shortage of players and media personnel have come out to defend Young. From NBA legend LeBron James<\/a> to 4-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins<\/a>, many have been left scratching their heads at how he\u2019s been perceived.<\/p>\n

This list includes at least one of his former teammates. 2-time NBA champion Rajon Rondo<\/a>, who played 27 games for the Hawks during the 2020-21 season, recently made an appearance on Showtime\u2019s Bully Ball<\/a> with co-hosts Cousins and Rachel Nichols. During the segment, the famed floor general revealed his true thoughts on his former teammate.<\/p>\n

Rajon Rondo Reveals Thoughts on Trae Young<\/h2>\n

\u201cDefinitely, definitely underrated,\u201d Rondo begins. \u201cNight in, night out, every team is trying to figure out how to stop Trae Young. And you\u2019re doing this at [6-foot-1]. Only five years in the league, I mean he\u2019s already figured the game out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elephant in the Room<\/h3>\n

Notoriously candid, Rajon Rondo also addressed Trae Young\u2019s intangibles, which have been questioned early in his career. Young\u2019s locker room leadership and coachability haven\u2019t been nearly as magnificent as his highlights. A player whose character has been questioned a few times himself, Rondo offers an interesting and unique perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s learning how to become a better teammate,\u201d Rondo says. \u201cI played with him and tried to knock him about being that but he\u2019s young, he\u2019s learning. He hasn\u2019t had many vets to come in and teach him how to be that type of player and also have a franchise on your back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak from that perspective,\u201d Rondo admits, \u201cbut being able to come in [at] 22 years old and have a whole franchise on your back, and still want him to do so many other things, and produce on the court\u2026 You\u2019re asking a lot from a young person who is now just coming into something new. So he\u2019s definitely underrated. One of my favorite players I\u2019ve ever played with. He’s unstoppable.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the smartest players in NBA history, when Rondo talks, people listen. Especially as Rondo is infamous for his serious demeanor. For Young and his camp, they\u2019ll certainly be hoping that people lend an ear to the 16-year veteran.<\/p>\n

However, for now, trade rumors centered on Young continue to fly. Those who don\u2019t link the Texas native<\/a> to the San Antonio Spurs link him to the ever-polarizing Los Angeles Lakers. Though he\u2019s in the midst of a historic season<\/a>, the storylines surrounding Young and his team are sure to dampen his enthusiasm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Initially an All-Star snub, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young may be one of the most underrated players in the NBA. At least that\u2019s if his near All-Star snub has anything to say about it. A gifted playmaker with a knack for taking over in clutch moments, Young is averaging 26.7 points and 10.9 assists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":64187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1608,62],"tags":[209,1349],"class_list":["post-64158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hawks","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-rajon-rondo","tag-trae-young"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}