ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young has been named the 2022 Most Outstanding Professional Athlete during the Atlanta Sports Awards on Saturday night.
It hasn’t taken long for Young’s star to rise in Atlanta.
“Just try to put the city on my back every night that I go out and play,” Trae Young said.
Drafted as the number five overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Young has become one of the most prominent faces in Atlanta sports.
“For them to believe in me and draft me on draft night and to really go where we’ve been since I’ve been here, it’s just been fun to really build with this organization.” Young said. “We want to take it further and bring this city its first championship and many more. So that’s my plan. That’s why I love this organization.”
Young has consistently been one of the top scorers in the league and continues to keep the Hawks as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference – making him this year’s Outstanding Professional Athlete.
“It’s a humbling achievement,” Young said of the honor. “Just [to] know all the top athletes here in Atlanta, with all of the different sports, it’s an unbelievable accomplishment and achievement. Just being nominated with these guys. So to win it, it’s a great award and I’m thankful.”
He’s accomplished a lot at just 24-years-old, but there’s one thing missing.
“I’m going to be judged off of winning championships and my numbers and whatever all those things speak for themselves,” Young said. “But it’s about winning. It’s about winning championships. That’s what I want to do for my career and hopefully I win a lot here.”
He hopes to do so in the city that has embraced this Norman, Oklahoman son as one of their own.
“I just try to represent them the best that I can,” Young said about Atlanta. “It means a lot to me. Like I said they drafted me and that just showed that they believed in me. It’s only right that I give them my best effort. It’s not that I’m doing it alone. It’s just understanding that I got to bring my best effort. It’s all going to trickle down to everyone else. I just try to do that for this city because they’ve given me so much love.”
The Atlanta Sports Awards are presented each year by the Atlanta Sports Council to recognize outstanding athletic talent at all levels across Georgia.
Other nominees in this category included Atlanta Braves' 3rd baseman Austin Riley and the Atlanta Dream's Rhyne Howard.