Trae Young facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Trae Young

Young at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game
No. 11 – Atlanta Hawks
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1998-09-19) September 19, 1998 (age 26) Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
High school	Norman North (Norman, Oklahoma)
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	164 lb (74 kg)
Career information
College	Oklahoma (2017–2018)
NBA Draft	2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Pro career	2018–present
League	NBA
Career history
2018–present	Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
4× NBA All-Star (2020, 2022, 2024, 2025) All-NBA Third Team (2022) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2019) NBA assists leader (2025) Consensus first-team All-American (2018) Wayman Tisdale Award (2018) NCAA scoring champion (2018) NCAA assists leader (2018) First-team All-Big 12 (2018) Big 12 Freshman of the Year (2018) McDonald's All-American (2017)
Medals Men's basketball Representing the  United States FIBA Americas U18 Championship Gold 2016 Chile National team

Rayford Trae Young (born September 19, 1998) is an American professional basketball player. He plays for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Before joining the NBA, Trae played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. In his only college season (2017–18), he made history. He tied the record for most assists in a single game in NCAA Division I with 22. He also became the only player ever to lead the NCAA in both points and assists in one season.

Trae Young is often called "Ice Trae" because of his cool play. He was picked fifth in the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. But on the same day, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. He went to the Hawks along with a future draft pick. In return, the Mavericks got the rights to Luka Dončić. Trae and Luka were both chosen for the 2019 NBA All-Rookie First Team. Trae has been an NBA All-Star four times. He has also led the Hawks to the playoffs three times, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.

Early Life and High School Basketball

Young at the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

Trae Young was born on September 19, 1998, in Lubbock, Texas. His parents are Candice and Rayford Young. His father, Rayford, played basketball at Texas Tech and then played professionally in Europe. Trae has a younger brother and two younger sisters. He also has an uncle who played college basketball. Trae grew up in Pampa, Texas, mostly with his mother and grandparents. This was because his father was playing basketball overseas.

Trae went to Norman North High School in Norman, Oklahoma. In his second year of high school, he was a great player. He averaged 25 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds per game. He helped his team win the 2015 area championship. He was also named Oklahoma's Sophomore of the Year.

In his third year, Trae got even better. He averaged 34.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. He led his team to a 28–4 record. They won the regional title and finished second in the 2016 Oklahoma Class 6A championship game. In his final year, he averaged 42.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He shot 48.9% from the field.

College Career Highlights

Trae Young played for the Oklahoma Sooners for one season (2017–18). He quickly showed how talented he was. In his first college game on November 12, he scored 15 points, had 10 assists, and grabbed six rebounds. Just three days later, he scored 22 points and had 13 assists.

On November 26, Trae scored a season-high 43 points against Oregon. People started comparing his playing style to NBA superstar Stephen Curry. On December 19, Trae tied an NCAA record. He had 22 assists in a single game, along with 26 points. This was a huge achievement.

Throughout the season, Trae became a top player to watch for the NBA draft. Even NBA stars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry praised his skills. He finished his freshman season leading the entire country in several stats. He led in total assists (271), total points (848), points per game (27.4), assists per game (8.7), and assist percentage (48.6%). His 848 points broke the Big 12 conference record for a freshman. He was the only player ever to lead the NCAA in both points and assists in one season.

In March 2018, Trae won the Wayman Tisdale Award. This award is given to the best freshman player in the country. He was also named Big 12's Freshman of the Year. He was part of the All-Big 12 First Team. He was also chosen as a consensus First-Team All-American. This means he was recognized as one of the best college players by many different groups. After his team lost in the NCAA tournament, Trae decided to enter the 2018 NBA draft.

Professional Career with the Atlanta Hawks

2018–19 Season: Rookie Success

On June 21, 2018, Trae Young was picked fifth in the NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. But he was immediately traded to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks sent the rights to the third overall pick, Luka Dončić, to the Mavericks. Trae officially joined the Hawks on July 1, 2018.

In his third NBA game on October 21, Trae scored 35 points and had 11 assists. On November 19, he set a new career-high with 17 assists. He also scored 25 points. On February 25, 2019, Trae scored 36 points and made eight three-pointers. Two days later, he had another 36 points and 10 assists. On March 1, he scored a career-high 49 points and had 16 assists in a long, exciting game against the Chicago Bulls. On March 31, Trae hit a game-winning shot against the Milwaukee Bucks. He finished that game with 12 points and 16 assists. At the end of the season, Trae was chosen for the 2019 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

2019–20 Season: First All-Star Selection

Young with the Hawks in January 2020

On October 24, 2019, Trae scored 38 points in the Hawks' first game of the season. On November 29, he scored 49 points, including 21 points in the fourth quarter. On January 23, 2020, Trae was chosen as an NBA All-Star starter for the first time. On January 26, he scored 45 points and had 14 assists. In that game, he wore jersey number 8 for the first eight seconds. This was to honor Kobe Bryant, who had passed away earlier that day.

A few days later, Trae had 39 points and a career-high 18 assists. On February 9, he scored 48 points and had 13 assists in a double-overtime game. On February 20, Trae scored a career-high 50 points against the Miami Heat. He made 8 of 15 three-pointers in that game.

2020–21 Season: Eastern Conference Finals Run

On December 23, 2020, Trae started the season with 37 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. On May 23, 2021, he made his NBA playoff debut. He had 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks. He also hit a game-winning shot with less than a second left. Trae joined a special group of players. He became one of only a few players in NBA history to have 30 points and 10 assists in their first playoff game.

In the Conference Semifinals, Trae led the Hawks to a big comeback win against the Philadelphia 76ers. He scored 39 points, had 7 assists, and 3 steals. In Game 7 of that series, Trae scored 21 points. This helped the Hawks reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015. In Game 1 of the Conference Finals, Trae scored a playoff career-high 48 points. He also had 11 assists and seven rebounds. Trae missed games 4 and 5 due to a foot injury. He returned for Game 6, but the Hawks lost, ending their season.

On August 3, 2021, Trae signed a big contract extension with the Hawks. It was a five-year deal worth at least $172 million.

2021–22 Season: All-NBA Recognition

On November 14, 2021, Trae scored 42 points, had 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. This helped Atlanta beat the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. On January 3, 2022, Trae scored a new career-high of 56 points and had 14 assists. From November 22 to January 7, Trae had 17 games in a row where he scored at least 25 points. This broke a Hawks franchise record.

On January 27, Trae was again chosen as an NBA All-Star starter. On February 3, he scored 43 points against the Phoenix Suns. This ended their 11-game winning streak. On February 26, Trae scored 41 points and had 11 assists. This was his tenth game with at least 40 points and 10 assists, passing Michael Jordan for ninth all-time. On March 13, Trae scored 33 of his 47 points in the first half. The next day, he scored 46 points, had 6 rebounds, and 12 assists. He was the first NBA player in a long time to score 40-plus points in back-to-back games.

At the end of the regular season, Trae became only the second player in NBA history to lead the league in both total points and total assists in one season. The other player was Tiny Archibald. In the playoffs, the Hawks lost to the Miami Heat in five games.

2022–23 Season: New Teammate

For his fifth NBA season, the Atlanta Hawks added Dejounte Murray to the team. This trade helped the Hawks' defense and shared the offensive load with Trae. In his first game of the season on October 19, 2022, Trae had 23 points and 13 assists. The Hawks won that game.

On February 26, 2023, Trae scored 34 points and hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer against the Brooklyn Nets. On April 7, Trae scored 27 points and set a career-high with 20 assists. In the playoffs, against the Boston Celtics, Trae had a great Game 3. He scored 32 points, had 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. In Game 5, Trae scored 38 points and had 13 assists. He also hit a game-winning three-pointer. Even though Trae played well, the Hawks lost to the Celtics in six games.

2023–24 Season: Franchise Three-Point Leader

On December 23, 2023, Trae had 30 points and 13 assists. This was his seventh game in a row with at least 30 points and 10 assists. This tied a record set by Oscar Robertson back in 1964–65. On November 30, 2023, Trae scored a season-high 45 points and had 14 assists against the San Antonio Spurs.

On February 6, 2024, Trae was named to his third All-Star team. On February 15, Trae made his 1,051st career three-pointer. This made him the player with the most three-pointers in Hawks franchise history, passing Mookie Blaylock.

2024–25 Season: Leading the NBA in Assists

On October 23, 2024, in the Hawks' first game of the season, Trae had 30 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds. In the next game on October 25, he had 38 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and four steals. He joined Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to start a season with back-to-back games of at least 30 points and 10 assists.

On November 27, Trae had 20 points and a career-high 22 assists. On December 6, he scored 31 points and had 20 assists. He also hit a game-winning three-pointer in overtime. He became the first player in NBA history to have a game with 30-plus points, 20-plus assists, and 5-plus three-pointers. He also became the 11th player in NBA history to have a game with 30 points and 20 assists.

On January 7, 2025, Trae hit a half-court game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. This gave Atlanta a win and capped off a 24-point, 20-assist performance. It was his third game of the season with at least 20 points and 20 assists. He was the first player to do this many times in a season since John Stockton in 1989–90. On January 14, Trae scored a season-high 43 points. Trae finished the season leading the NBA in assists per game with a career-high 11.6. He also set a franchise record for total assists in a season with 880.

National Team Career

Trae Young was part of the U.S. men's national U18 team. This team won a gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.

Career Statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal Life and Community Work

Trae Young married his longtime partner, Shelby Miller, in July 2023. They have two children, a son born in June 2022 and a second child born in November 2023. Trae is a Christian.

In August 2019, Trae became an Honorary Board Member at The Children's Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Oklahoma City. This shows his commitment to helping others. In November 2023, a street was named after him, Trae Young Drive. It's located outside the Young Family Athletic Center in his hometown.

See also

In Spanish: Trae Young para niños

• List of NBA career free throw percentage leaders
• List of NBA single-season assists per game leaders
• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 20 or more assists in a game