“We Weren’t the Most Talented Team”: 2 Years After Shocking the World, Trae Young Comes Clean on Hawks’ Insane NBA Eastern Conference Finals Journey

The 2021 NBA witnessed a remarkable postseason run by the Milwaukee Bucks. In a dramatic fashion, the Giannis Antetokounmpo led Bucks, stormed into the NBA Finals and claimed the championship. However, they faced an unexpected opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals – the Atlanta Hawks, led by Trae Young.

The Hawks were a young side that was just on the rise in 2021. Despite finishing the regular season as the 5th seed, their chances of making the Eastern Conference Finals were slim. However, Trae Young and his teammates rallied an unbelievable effort to storm past the No.1 seeded team in the East in the second round.

Trae Young talked about the Hawks’ incredible run

The Atlanta Hawks finished the regular season as the 5th seed in the East. After trading for Clint Capela during the 2020 NBA season, the Hawks boasted of a strong young core. However, their team had no All Stars in their lineup that year.

The Hawks had a well balanced side but lacked playoff experience. With such a side, beating the No.1 seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the second round was no joke. Trae Young shined bright throughout the playoffs putting up heroic efforts whenever the team needed him.

After a spectacular display against the New York Knicks in the first round, Young fully embraced the “villain” role. He also showed his ice-cold composure in the clutch throughout their run, even storming past the Sixers.

Trae Young recently graced the Golden State Warriors forward, Draymond Green’s podcast. He talked about the Hawks’ surprising playoff run on the podcast, “We weren’t the most talented team left in the playoffs but we had some talented guys….we had guys like Clint at the right moment and it happened.”

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Trae Young realised that the Hawks’ playoff run stunned the world but he also explained the expectations they had going into the next seasons.

Young claimed the expectations were high

After making to the Eastern Conference Finals, the expectations on any team would be high. It was no different when it came to the young Hawks despite their inexperience. In the same segment with Draymond Green, Young also talked about what he personally expected from the Hawks moving forward.

Young said, “Going into the next season, obviously, the expectations were higher….we went further than we were expected to be. If we don’t get better as a team, everybody is gonna be coming for us…being knocked out in the first round.”

He also mentioned that “when you go that far….you have to learn through it….when you get that far, you are expected to go to the same round or even further the next year“.

However, he also stated his own expectations with the team. “I’m not mad at it because that’s my expectation too….we should be better than what we were the year before because that’s my expectations too“.

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Trae Young and the Hawks entered a new stage of their team building this year. After re-signing Dejounte Murray for a whopping $120M, the Hawks are expecting another deep playoff run. The duo of Young and Murray will run it back but without the services of John Collins.