Trae Young is one of the brightest young guards in the NBA today, but he has seen his stock around the NBA steadily go down over recent years. Young made it clear on the ‘Million $ Worth Of Game’ podcast that he believes he is one of the most skilled players in the NBA and would be one of the GOATs if he was 6’8″ instead of 6’1″.
“I used to hate when I used to see guys that are tall and that’s all. They just out there tall, and that’s all. If I was 6’8″, I feel like I would be the best player ever to play this game. Just because of my mentality, the way I play, and the smartness I have about this game, I feel like I can bring a lot to the game.”
“But there are a lot of deficiencies because I’m 6’1″, it’s tough. I am playing in a big man’s game. I don’t know.”
“If I was 6'8", I feel like I would be the best player ever to play this game.”
– Trae Young
(Via @mworthofgame / h/t @AhnFireDigital )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 9, 2024
Funnily, Young essentially described Luka Doncic with the physical gifts the Slovenian guard has. There’s also no question about who’s better between Young and Doncic, so maybe that’s why Trae had such a specific example where he included Luka’s height.
We’ve seen multiple super-skilled players at that height, but not everyone becomes the GOAT and I’m pretty sure Trae would be far away from those talks even if taller.
Young averaged 25.7 points and 10.8 assists last season, finding a way to overcome his size issues to be one of the best offensive players in the NBA. This is a weird quote to see as we don’t see point guards around the NBA talk about their height this way.
Stephen Curry is an inch taller and has established himself as a GOAT-level player despite his physical limitations, so Trae’s height isn’t as limiting a factor in his greatness as he wants it to be.
Trae Young Opened Up On Being Compared To Stephen Curry
If Young views himself as one of the GOATs of basketball when it comes to skill, it’s natural for him to be compared to Stephen Curry. Young has been battling Steph comparisons since he was in college, recently speaking about the same and calling Curry an electrifying player to watch.
“That (pressure) really all started in college. We played in the Phil Knight tournament had a really good showing and then we were on ESPN every day. I swear that’s all they were pushing – ‘The next Steph Curry’. I never paid too much attention to it. I never was like ‘Yeah, I’m about to be the next Steph’…
“He [Curry] said something when I was in college too, that just made it even more (real). Middle of the Big 12, we’re like top five in the country, and he had said something like ‘He’s so electrifying every time you watch him’…”
Young should continue following the Curry example to establish himself as one of the top guards in the NBA, regardless of size. Gaining height doesn’t simply make players better, as Young is not even on the radar of the all-time greats at his position, with players like Isiah Thomas, Chris Paul, and more.
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