Trae Young Considers His Early Encounter With Kevin Durant and Other NBA Superstars a “Blessing and a Curse” for a Strange Reason

When it comes to unleashing brutality on the opponents, Hawks’ star Trae Young is no dove. He made a mark in the game early in his career. Trae has played six seasons for the Atlanta Hawks and is brutal with the statistics. He has averaged 25.7 points and 9.5 assists.

Trae is excellent with shooting and his playmaking skills are stellar. He has earned the nickname ‘Ice Trae’ for his capabilities as a player. The Hawks ace recently gave a sneak peek at how being surrounded by greats impacted him as a kid.

Trae Young reflects on the influence of NBA greats on his career

Trae recently participated in the Point Forward Podcast hosted by Andre Iguodala and Ivan Turner. Young talked about a host of issues, including the new point guard, Quin Synder’s impact on the Hawks, and his father’s influence. He was asked how being surrounded by greats has helped or hurt him. Young was blunt with the reply as he recounted Kevin Durant’s influence saying, “I think it was a blessing and a curse. Like I was fortunate enough … my dad played and so he knew a lot of people in the business and so we knew some guys with the Thunder, or my dad did. I was able to meet guys like KD and go take pictures like when I was a kid. We had season tickets, and that was one of the expenses my dad made when he got a really good job.” 

Young, however, maintained that being surrounded by greats was not a gift that automatically guaranteed his success. He opined that whenever players like Vanderpool would be in the town, he would go and ask questions. His father’s investment was, of course, a launching pad for his wonderful career trajectory, but the host of the podcast summarised it perfectly adding, “Your attitude determines your latitude.”

Young has played 386 regular games and averaged 27.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 11 assists per game in the 2023-24 season. Asserting that his success was not a product of his privileged background alone, Young went on to detail his attitude, curiosity, and hard work. But soaring under the wings of his caring father Rayford Young, Trae was able to make his idols, his rivals.

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Rayford Young was a basketball player and played for Texas Tech. he had a brief stint at Houston Rockets but his underperformance led him to pursue a basketball career in Europe. He later went on to take up an assistant coaching job in Oklahoma. His efforts were, of course, instrumental in shaping the career of his son.

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