Why was Trae Young voted the ‘most overrated player in the NBA’ and who voted?

With the Hawks set to face the Celtics in Game 2 of their 1st round playoff series, the timing of the eyebrow raising report is interesting to say the least. Will it have an effect on his play as he hopes to help his team tie the series at 1-1? Atlanta fans will be hoping that’s not the case.

NBA players don’t hold Trae Young in high esteem

According to a recent anonymous poll of 54 NBA players, Atlanta Hawks point guard, Trae Young, has been voted the most overrated player in the league. Young, who garnered 14.8% of the entire voted that comprised of 17 players in total, received eight votes. To be clear no other player received more than four.

The news marks an interesting take on a player who has been largely considered by many fans to be one of the better players in the league after spearheading the Hawks trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. On the other hand, the Hawks haven’t been nearly as successful since - they were relegated twice in a row in the Play-In tournament - nor has Young himself. With an average of 15.5 points per game on 31% shooting across those last two seasons, it’s safe to say he’d seen better days.

Where are the Hawks at right now?

Truth be told, it’s been a tough time for The Hawks recently. Firstly, both general manager Travis Schlenk and head coach Nate McMillan parted ways with the team in the last few months - the latter was fired. Where Schlenk specifically is concerned, it was he who drafted Young. McMillan on the other hand is the second coach to have held the post in Young’s time with the team after previous coach Lloyd Pierce. This of course brings us to Quin Snyder who is Atlanta’s current coach who held his tongue in the last few weeks when reports suggested that the franchise was open to trading Young. For his part, Young disclosed that he knew nothing of such reports.

Some context about the anonymous player poll

You may recall the last time we saw an anonymous player poll back in 2019. At the time it was the Warriors’ Draymond Green and Clippers new boy, Russell Westbrook, who tied for the title with 17% a piece. Interestingly, in that very same poll, 125 players were also asked who they would build a roster around and some mentioned Young. Times have clearly changed. Yet, the irony is that Young’s numbers this year have actually been better with an average of 26.2 points per game. This of course begs the question as to why fellow players think he’s not worth the hype.

Whatever the case, the Hawks have been in a bind for most of the season and it would be unfair to blame that on Young entirely. After using several draft picks to sign the Spurs’ All-Star, Dejounte Murray, they’ve largely been OK at best. There was also the rather public spat between Young and the now departed McMillan which left many to view the player as the reason why things fell apart. Ultimately, the thing is this: Despite the fact that he’s clearly one of the more talented players of his generation, winning is what counts in sports and right now Young’s performances have not helped the team to do that.