During an episode of Draymond Green’s podcast, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young openly discussed the ongoing comparisons between himself and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, which have persisted since the 2018 NBA Draft night trade between Atlanta and Dallas.
In the draft, Atlanta initially selected Dončić as the third overall pick but traded him to Dallas in exchange for Young, who was chosen as the fifth overall pick. Atlanta also received a future protected first-round pick as part of the trade. Since then, both players have risen to stardom in the league, leading their respective teams.
Young expressed his perspective on the comparisons: “I don’t even stress over it no more. Like, I just … I know the real ones get it. I feel like, once I win a championship, it’ll even open up more eyes to what I’ve really done. Especially to some of my peers that I’m compared with.”
After five seasons, Young has averaged 25.5 points and 9.3 assists, while Doncic, a former Real Madrid player, holds averages of 27.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and eight assists.
Young emphasized his positive relationship with Doncic, saying, “To be honest with you, I have no hate towards nobody, especially Luka. We talk all the time. We got a lot of love for each other, a lot of respect for each other. There are different agendas… The way people look at certain people is different. To be honest, I don’t get caught up into it. I feel like, eventually, people are going to understand what it is and realize that it’s not that far off. We kind of do the same things. We’re different in size, but I mean, he can play. Like, I can play, you know what I’m saying? We can both hoop, so at the same time, that’s just what it is.“
