The Atlanta Hawks were a few wins away from the NBA Finals, losing in 6 games to the eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. They beat the Joel Embiid-led Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the second round, and it’s clear that they were a team that outperformed a lot of people’s expectations for them.
Despite the fact that the Atlanta Hawks went deep into the playoffs, there are few analysts and fans who would pick them as a team that is a true contender for the 2021-22 championship. Hawks superstar Trae Young has recently expressed disdain towards the disrespect the Atlanta Hawks have received and claimed that it was “mind-blowing” that “no one is mentioning” the Hawks in their analysis.
https://twitter.com/ChrisKirschner/status/1451207820003536902
I don’t think we get the respect we deserve. I watch a lot of TV. I see people mentioning all of the acquisitions everyone is getting. No one is mentioning us. The Milwaukee-Brooklyn game, they mentioned how they were in the Eastern Finals. It was just mind blowing.
Trae Young was the driving force behind the Atlanta Hawks reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, and he made some big shots on the way there. It makes sense for him to feel that the team is disrespected. For what it’s worth, Trae Young has gotten a shoutout from Magic Johnson for his playoff run, so it’s clear that some people are noticing what he’s doing.
The Atlanta Hawks will have the chance to prove themselves to the world this upcoming season, and potentially show they are a true contender during the regular season. The Hawks elected to reward John Collins and Kevin Huerter with extensions ahead of the regular season, and it’s clear that they believe in their core of young players. If they see one of their young players take the next step, then the Hawks could be even better than last season. What’s clear though, is that Trae Young will be crucial to their hopes of contending, and perhaps we’ll see the Hawks make another deep run.
