Trae Young just might be a future MVP. He is a walking highlight reel, consistently putting up incredible numbers.
After a remarkable playoff performance last season pushed Young and the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the eventual Champion Bucks, Young has not slowed down.
This season, he averaged 28.4 points and 9.7 assists per game. In fact, he became just the second player ever to lead the league in total points and total assists.
The Hawks, forced to battle it out in two play-in games, are back in the playoffs this year. Despite being down 2-0 to the Miami Heat, they are a dangerous first round opponent with Young leading the way.
Let’s get into what makes this card, and player, so special.
All collectors know that the Panini Prizm Basketball is one of the biggest releases each year (And if you didn’t know, well, now you do!).
Trae Young, unsurprisingly, is a top chase player from this 2018 set. In fact, for many collectors, the key Trae Young rookie card is found in this set.
Set against a Blue Prizm background, this beautiful chromium card shows Young driving the ball to the basket while in the middle of a classic Trae Young layup.
This card, limited to 199 copies, is a PSA 10 POP 67.
There is not too much of a story behind this card. It is simply a really nice Prizm parallel, of one of the most exciting players in the league.
In his four seasons to date, Young has averaged an impressive 25.3 points and 9.1 assists. Often compared to Steph Curry during his one year at Oklahoma, Trae has not disappointed since getting to the league.
Young has always been known to perk up during the biggest moments. Last year, the 5-seed Hawks made a Cinderella(ish) run to the conference finals.
Led by Young, they beat the Knicks in five games, before beating the 1-seeded Sixers in seven.
Trae was far and away the best player in both series.
Ultimately, the Bucks took down the Hawks in six games. However, not before Young led the Hawks to a game one victory, where he scored 48 points to go along with 11 assists.
While the Hawks mildly disappointed this season, Young surely did not. As mentioned above, he averaged an incredible 28.4 points and 9.7 assists per game, while leading the entire league in both total points and total assists.
Put simply, he is absolutely unstoppable.
In a must win play-in game vs the Cavs, it was once again the Trae Young show.
Facing a 10-point halftime deficit, Young led his Hawks on a ferocious comeback. Young alone scored 32 second half points (38 points total).
Included were these three points, on a step-back three only a few players in the league can make.
Now, as he and the Hawks face a 2-0 deficit against the Heat in the first round, it would be foolish to count him out.