Trae Young needs finger surgery and will be out at for at least a month. News of the star guard’s status surfaced just this morning.
“Ice” Trae was just competing in the three-point shootout final during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. He now finds himself on the injury list with perhaps the biggest injury of his career thus far.
It’s a devastating blow for the Hawks who are barely clinging to the final play-in spot. Young was averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 assists, and also added 1.4 steals per game. He currently ranks first in the NBA with a total of 553 assists and was the leading scorer in the league just two years ago. Him going down now could potentially cost the Hawks a playoff spot.
The injury appeared to occur three minutes into the fourth quarter on what looked like a harmless play.
Who Replaces Trae?
Now that we know Young needs finger surgery, the attention now turns to who the Hawks will replace his minutes with. Surely, Dejounte Murray will take over almost all ball-handling duties. Bogdan Bogdanovic is having a better-than-expected season and is the primary candidate to join the starting lineup. Patty Mills and Wesley Matthews could also propel into more minutes.
The name we should keep an eye on though is 2023 first round pick, Kobe Bufkin. Bufkin was recalled from the G-League last night after Young’s injury and could surprise many with his game. The 6’5 guard from Michigan has averaged close to 24 points and 6 assists per game while in the G.
What’s even more unfortunate for Atlanta is that their center, Onyeka Okongwu, just went down with a toe injury. He was seen in a walking boot yesterday and is set to be reevaluated in 2 weeks, but he’s technically without a timetable.
Quin Snyder is going to have to conjure up some magic in order to will Atlanta into the playoffs. On top of losing Young, the Hawks also lost to Toronto 123-121. The Raptors are now 3.5 games behind Atlanta, and Scottie Barnes is playing like a man on a mission to make the play-in.
Click here for more NBA news.
Subscribe to Fantom’s Twitch
Subscribe to Fantom’s YouTube!
Join the Fantom Sports Discord.