Trae Young hits career-milestone in perfect fashion

The Atlanta Hawks have been quietly creeping up the Eastern Conference standings and have climbed over .500 with a current 16-15 record. Obviously a big part of the Hawks’ improved play is the production of star point guard Trae Young, who reached an important career-milestone on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.

The career-milestone that Trae Young reached was 11,000 career points and he did so on a step-back three-point shot, a signature move for him. Not only did Young reach the 11k career points mark, but he also became the second youngest player in NBA history to reach 11,000 points and 4,000 assists, as per StatMuse.

The youngest player to reach that mark was Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James.

The Hawks ended up defeating the Bulls, 141-133, and Young finished with 27 points, two rebounds, 13 assists and two steals. He shot 8-of-17 from the field, 4-of-11 from three-point range and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

The Hawks have now won two consecutive games and six of their last ten. They currently sit in seventh place in the East standings. Last season the Hawks failed to make the playoffs after losing the play-in to the Bulls.

Coming into Thursday’s game, Young had appeared in 28 of Hawks’ 30 games, at just about 36 minutes per game. He had been averaging 21.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 1.3 steals with splits of 39.5 percent shooting from the field, 32.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Young’s points per game average is the second-lowest in his career only behind his rookie season average of 19.1. But his assists are a career-high and he’s currently leading the league. Trae Young’s overall shooting percentage is down and his three-point percentage is slightly under his career average of 35.3 percent. But as the season goes on, it should even out.

A three-time All-Star, if the Hawks continue to climb the East standings, Young should be in the mix for another All-Star appearance.

David Yapkowitz is a basketball journalist for ClutchPoints, writing news on the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Basketball for both men and women. The Los Angeles native has bylines with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation, and The Next Hoops.