Atlanta Hawks’ star player Trae Young faced a concerning situation during a game against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. It came late in the first quarter and set off warning bells. Young, a four-time All-Star who just celebrated his 27th birthday, suffered a nasty right knee sprain after crashing into Alize Johnson under the hoop.
Young came into the game with boatloads of hype, and had been averaging 20.8 points and 9.5 assists per game. He had been the most important engine in his team’s offensive machine. Then, Mouhamed Gueye was just about shoved in the chest by Noah Clowney. He flopped backward and hit Young’s leg. The jarring hit knocked Young to the turf, causing players and fans alike to fear the worst immediately.
At first, Young toughed it out and stayed in the game, but decided to pull himself after one offensive possession. He returned to the locker room in a hurry, a sign of just how serious it was. He went down, writhing in plain agony on the court for several minutes, but eventually he fought through and rose to his feet. With intensity, he sprinted back to the bench through a timeout.
So young his obviously trying to play through it, but ultimately the Atlanta Hawks decided to rule Young out for the rest of the night. That decision followed an assessment of his condition, determining the diagnosis of a right knee sprain to be evaluated further.
This season, Young has been amazing. Last year, he finished tops in the NBA with a career-high 11.6 dimes per contest. His on-floor production has been absolutely key for the Hawks as they look to build on an encouraging 2016-17 campaign. Yet, with this latest injury, the team has more questions than answers about what to expect from him in the immediate future.
As the Hawks make their way through this setback, they will just as surely be keeping a close eye on Young’s recovery. An MRI will be done to determine the severity of injury. All of this will inform the decision on the next steps to take.
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