ESPN.com · Oct 27, 2025
Why this season is so important for Trae Young and the Hawks
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THE EMORY SPORTS Medicine Complex practice courts are quiet after just about all the Atlanta Hawks players have left for the day.
But Trae Young, sitting near the baseline of the two practice courts, can always hear the noise and chatter that surrounds him.
Entering his eighth season, Young is beloved in Atlanta. But his critics, from Patrick Beverley to anonymous online trolls, constantly chirp.
Young can practically recite the gripes against him: "I can't adjust my game. I can't play with this guy or this guy.
"I mean, it's very comical to me," Young says. "It's very funny. There's so many things, man."