Hawks Trae Young ‘Has No Ceiling,’ Says NBA Vet
Six years ago, a Twitter user named IbnCutByIbn asked Trae Young, who has the best handles in the league. His list consisted of Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, James Harden, and Damian Lillard.
Trae Young saw the tweet and responded with Jamal Crawford, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, and Brandon Jennings.
Earlier this year, Young paid homage to the former three-time Six Man of The Year Jamal Crawford by wearing his Atlanta Hawks Jersey before taking on the Memphis Grizzlies. Unfortunately, the Hawks would go on to lose 131-113. However, Crawford saw the image on Twitter, gave Young a shout-out, and called him one of his favorite rising stars.
Recently, I spoke with Crawford and asked him how much of Young’s game reminds him of himself.
“His mentality, his elusiveness, his shiftiness, and his fearlessness. I see those attributes for sure,” said Crawford.
He then followed up with a question to me about what made me ask about Young specifically. Then I highlighted their ability to handle the basketball.
Then I follow his question up with where did he see Young’s ceiling.
” He has no ceiling. What I think happened over this last year, he really figured it out. Like really figured it out. Not saying that he wasn’t averaging 29 points the year before, but he figured out how to do it even easier. He figured out how to do it where he was two games away from the Finals. He figured it out, so for him, to figure it out this early in your career,” said Crawford.
“That normally doesn’t happen until years eight, nine, or ten when you really figure it out. Sometimes you figure it out when you cannot impact the game physically the way you were able to. He is not even close to his peak so to figure out this quick, the rest of it is going to be ice cream. So, now when he doesn’t win, he will know what exactly needs to happen for it to happen. To give ourselves the best chance, so I’m loving watching him play.”
Speaking of Trae Young, he made headlines last week after Drake’s album ‘ Certified Lover Boy’ dropped.
“Yo when we gonna say Drake passed Hov?” Young tweeted at 2:52 a.m. ET, 52 minutes after Drake’s latest album, “Certified Lover Boy,” went live online Friday morning, according to Rashad Milligan of PeachtreeHoops.com.
Young received a lot of pushback from fans and Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
“Stop It!” Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell tweeted.
But, per Milligan, Young’s father, Rayford Young, disagreed and said, “Never.”
The younger Young then backtracked and shared that HOV was number one for him.
Many thought Young was trolling Knicks fans after their playoff series this past season. However, the Hawks and Knicks play on Christmas in a highly anticipated rematch later this year.
Landon Buford is an accomplished sports and entertainment journalist based in Richardson, Texas, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, WWE, MLB, and the entertainment industry. Known for delivering high-impact stories and headline-making interviews, Buford has earned a global audience through content that blends insider access with compelling storytelling.
He previously served as director of editorial and brand communications at PlayersTV, where he helped shape the platform’s editorial voice and brand identity. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of LandonBuford.com—an independent outlet with more than 1.6 million views and syndication from major platforms including Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports. Buford’s interviews with stars like Gary Payton, Kevin Durant, Mark Cuban and Chris Paul showcase his talent for meaningful, in-depth conversations.
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