Trae Young and his Atlanta Hawks aren’t afraid of any challenge. The third-year player has taken his game to the next level this campaign, surprising everybody around the league. They are one game away from playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, eliminating the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.
Nobody saw them as favorites to compete this year. Not many people thought they would get higher than a 7th seed in the East, yet here they are, on the verge of eliminating the Joel Embiid-led Sixers.
Young and co. have a lot to win and nothing to lose. They overcame the New York Knicks in the first round and now will try to do the same against Philly. After taking a 3-2 lead in the series, the player admitted that being overlooked helped them gain confidence. They are proving doubters wrong, and Trae can’t be happier about it.
“When you talk about underdogs, for a team that has no All-Stars, no All-Defensive players, no All-NBA players, this team is fighting. We’re in the 2nd round of the playoffs and I think we’ve just had that chip on our shoulder all year of being overlooked.”
“… Just having that underdog mentality, we’re playing with that chip on our shoulder right now and guys are continuing to do that. We need to keep it up.”
More from Trae Young: "… Just having that underdog mentality, we're playing with that chip on our shoulder right now and guys are continuing to do that. We need to keep it up."
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) June 17, 2021
This team is really inspired. They returned from a 26-point deficit, making it clear they are a threat for every team competing in the postseason.
After struggling in the first half of the season, they improved their level, with Nate McMillan leading them to this point. They are the true Cinderella story this term, and nobody can question Young anymore. He is one of the biggest snubs on the All-NBA Teams this campaign but that only motivates the talented guard.
Game 6 of this series is scheduled for Friday at State Farm Arena. Trae will have a big chance to make it to the ECF, but the Sixers will try to ruin his plans.
