Does this era have a true point guard in the NBA? A few names come to mind, but can they be deemed as your traditional point guards from the previous century or even the 2010s? The closest one can think of is Trae Young. Since Stephen Curry entered the league in 2009, the game has evolved a lot. Point guards are now more inclined to score, rather than pull the strings from deep and have the frontcourt dominate the game. Thankfully, Trae Young still shows the traits of the traditional point guards. But when he came into the league, he was widely seen as the new Steph Curry. What did that feel like? Well, the Atlanta guard himself addressed that highly inquired question.

During his appearance on the latest episode of Paul George’s Podcast With P, Trae Young opened up amid the Steph Curry comparison. When asked about it, the 3-time All-Star guard revealed how it all started and said, “That really all started in college. Obviously, like, after my first 4 or 5 games, we played in that field night tournament, had a really good showing, and then we were on ESPN every day, and that’s where all they was pushing was the next Steph Curry.”

“I never paid too much attention to it. I never, like was like yeah, ‘I’m about to be the next Steph’, but no, I was always felt like I took a little bit from everybody’s game,” Trae added. “My favorite player was Steve Nash growing up and, like, he’s led the league in assists multiple years. I mean, and unfortunately, he’s also led the league in turnovers, which I’ve done, in couple years too. So that’s like, I take pieces from a lot of players, and so, like, that’s why I feel like me and Steph, we have some similarities… I also get 10 assists a game. Like, I also love getting everybody (into the game).”

Speaking of motivation, Trae acknowledged the scoring prowess of Curry. But he kept faith in his distinctive quality, as he said, “He (Steph) can probably score a few more points than me… I’d rather, like, get everybody involved and things like that. So there’s some things about our games that’s different, and so now I just always try to use that as, like a way to whenever I get to a certain level that the next way, the next high school player, they’re getting compared to Trae…That’s how I kinda use it. That’s kinda motivation too.”

When asked how things are between him and Curry, Trae recalled the Dubs guard taking him under his wings when he came to the league in 2018. And that’s where he learned and experienced the first-hand secret to Curry’s greatness.

Trae Young talks about Stephen Curry’s dedication to training

For a top pro, there’s no alternative to training. The dedication that goes into the craft shows in the performance and Curry is not above this rule. Trae Young observed that from up close, despite never sharing the locker room with Steph. Discussing working-out with the 4-time NBA champion’s trainer, Brandon Payne, Trae said, “It’s insane, bro. It’s insane from beginning to end. Like, it’s conditioning, and Steph, you know Steph does that at a different level. Now he got his heart rate monitor, so he got his people tracking. Yeah. That’s that’s that’s the next level high-level sh*t.”

Curry’s support for Trae Young is still there despite the latter having spent more than 5 years in the league now. Following Young’s NBA All-Star snub this year, Steph was seen encouraging the 25-year-old after the thrilling encounter between the Warriors and the Hawks, where Young led the Hawks to a 141-134 win despite Curry’s 60-point explosion. “I told him after the game that it would all come back to him if he continues to approach the game the right way: play with joy, don’t let it build any type of resentment just because he’s not acknowledged,” the 36-year-old advised Trae after the game. After all, Game recognizes Game!

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.