Memphis Grizzlies: Comparing Jaren Jackson Jr. With Other Top Picks

Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks selected Trae Young with the 5th overall pick after trading down from the third spot in a deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

Young is a very exciting player, he can score the basketball from anywhere on the floor. His passing is overlooked sometimes but it’s a big part of his game.

So far this season he is averaging 8.3 assists per game which ranks third in the entire NBA behind Kyle Lowry and Jrue Holiday. 

Part of that has to do with the Hawks entire offense being centered around him but no matter the circumstances for a rookie to be third in the NBA in assists is very impressive.

He put up a career-high 17 assists to go along with 25 points in a recent loss at home against the Clippers.

His offensive performance was early in the season in a blowout win in Cleveland. He had 35 points and 11 assists on 13-23 shooting, including 6-14 from three-point range.

Young and the Hawks were in Memphis for the Grizzlies home-opener this season so we got to see him up close early in the season.

He had 20 points and 9 assists in that game which was an easy win for Memphis. Those are still solid numbers for Young against a really good defensive team.

The Grizzlies weren’t playing nearly as well defensively as they are currently but nonetheless, it was a good performance for the rookie point guard.

His struggles shooting the ball are a bit concerning but nothing to overreact about. He is shooting just 39% from the field and 24% from three-point range.

For a guy who’s supposed to be a great scorer, you’d expect a bit better but he doesn’t have a lot of help around him so it’s hard to get open looks.

An early takeaway from Young’s play so far is that he can be a really good player but the Hawks desperately need another young star on the wing to pair with him.

The Grizzlies made an easy and correct decision by passing on Young with the 4th overall pick.