Young NBA backcourts Cavs’ Collin Sexton-Darius Garland should try to emulate
#4: Trae Young and Kevin Huerter
The Atlanta Hawks nailed down their starting backcourt for the next decade in one night. In the 2018 NBA Draft, the Hawks selected point guard Luka Doncic with the third pick but traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for their now starting point guard Trae Young.
Although Young didn’t live up to his reputation as a three-point marksman (32.4% from three according to basketball-reference), he had a fantastic rookie season for Atlanta. Young averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds for the season according to basketball-reference.
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Young also showed steady improvement as the year went on and the Hawks became a more competitive team throughout the season.
With the 19th pick in the 2018 NBA draft, the Hawks grabbed Kevin Huerter out of the University of Maryland. This pick was somewhat surprising at the time, however, Huerter proved the Hawks right, last season.
It took Huerter some time to adjust to the NBA game, which is a common thing for rookies. Per basketball-reference, Huerter averaged just 5.1 points per game in October and 6.1 points per game in November.
Huerter was inserted into the starting lineup in mid-November and never relinquished that role (he did miss seven games due to injury).
Huerter’s numbers increased as his role increased and he finished the season with per-game averages of 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He also shot a fantastic 38.5% from three (all per basketball-reference).
The young Hawks’ tandem has shown some serious potential moving forward. If they can improve on the defensive end (Young 117 defensive rating, Huerter 116 defensive rating), they can eventually challenge for the league’s best backcourt.