The Drew League has well and truly returned to the national spotlight after LeBron James made his return to the competition last week. The King made his first appearance in the pro-am league after 11 years, and he put on a show as he led his team to victory.
It got people around the league buzzing, and no one was more hyped by it than Hawks star Trae Young. Young tweeted after LeBron’s game that he wanted to play in the competition as well , and we got confirmation earlier today that he will indeed feature on Saturday.
The hits keep coming. Tomorrow at 3, #IceTrae makes his return to #TheDrew, teaming up with John Collins for Black Pearl Elite!👌🏽
Stream it live on the @NBA app! 📲
📸 @kampashai pic.twitter.com/7wPEqEPSO7
— Drew League (@DrewLeague) July 22, 2022
Young will be suiting up for Black Pearl Elite, the team that gave LeBron a run for his money last week, and he’ll be joined by his Hawks teammate John Collins. Young has previously taken part in the Drew League in 2019 when he dropped 31 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds on his debut, and we can expect some more fireworks here.
This will be the first that we see of John Collins at the competition, and the high-flyer should also give the fans in attendance an unforgettable experience. The fact that these two are teaming up here is also a bit interesting. There have been rumors of the Hawks trading away Collins all offseason, and the Nets were among several teams who were seemingly interested, but nothing has happened yet.
By teaming up with Collins, Young is perhaps sending a message to the franchise that he wants them to keep him around as they look to bounce back from a disappointing early exit in these past playoffs. The Hawks, led by Trae and Collins, had made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, but they failed to hit those heights last season as the Heat eliminated them in the first round. That prompted the front office to trade for Dejounte Murray, and these three will be tasked with helping the team hit those heights once again.
