Can a standout athlete perform at their peak without garnering attention? This is the reality for Trae Young.

The 2023-24 All-Star fan voting results in the NBA indicated Young as the third top-ranked guard in the Eastern Conference. However, Damian Lillard boasts almost 100 thousand more votes despite the Atlanta Hawks guard delivering better stats.

Some might attribute the vote gap to the Milwaukee Bucks having 10 more wins than the Hawks. However, team performance doesn’t heavily influence voting. In 2019-20, Young accumulated half a million more votes than Lillard despite the Hawks having one of the worst records.

While Ice Trae remains a popular guard, it’s evident on social media that fans don’t appreciate his game as much as they once did. Interestingly, Young’s professional journey bears striking similarities to Kyler Murray of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.

The two athletes were the stars of Oklahoma sports towards the end of the 2010s. Young led Division-I basketball in points and assists in his final season. Meanwhile, Murray earned the prestigious Heisman Trophy in 2018. Following their dominance in college, both Sooners were chosen within the top five in their drafts to immediately revive historically struggling franchises.

They share common flaws: being undersized and prone to turnovers due to an unconventional playing style. Yet, these shortcomings didn’t seem to matter early in their careers. In 2019, Murray was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Young secured a spot in the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

By 2021, the majority of fans regarded them as among the best in their respective positions. Murray led the Cardinals to the playoffs for the first time in five years despite playing in a division featuring two NFC Championship teams. Young guided the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals without an All-Star teammate.

Unfortunately, disappointing playoff performances, injuries, and a drop in team standings in the last two seasons have altered the perception of these two athletes for many. They are now viewed as players on losing teams who might not be the faces of their franchises.

However, it’s not as if they’ve declined.

In his seventh game back from an ACL injury, Murray demonstrated that he was still worthy of being the number one overall pick. He threw for three touchdowns in a victory over Philadelphia.

Trae Young’s NBA journey

Rookie: 8.1 assists per game 2nd year: 9.3 assists per game3rd year: 9.4 assists per game 4th year: 9.7 assists per game5th year: 10.2 assists per game6th year: 11.2 assists per game

Do you notice a pattern? 🤔

pic.com/cqGsk2o9GZ

— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) December 31, 2023

Young is putting together one of the most exceptional playmaking seasons in recent memory. He is averaging the seventh highest points per game (28.2) and the second highest assists per game (11.3) on approximately 44% field goal shooting. His 22 double-doubles rank fourth in the Eastern Conference.

In addition, he averages the most points in the fourth quarter among players who’ve played at least 15 games (8.6). His ability to shoot from deep and create scoring opportunities for teammates has elevated the Hawks to the sixth best offensive rating (119.5).

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton averages nearly four points less than Young and more than one additional assist. However, the national discourse currently favors Haliburton more. Young’s dominant performances are flying under the radar, with the In-Season Tournament runner-up being viewed as the league’s emerging playmaker. Did you know that Young scored at least 30 points and dished out 10 assists in seven consecutive games this season? Perhaps not, but you most likely came across posts about Haliburton’s impressive 20 & 20 game.

December marked one of the best stretches of Young’s career. He averaged 30.4 PPG and 12.2 APG. You have to backtrack to the preseason to find a game where he finished with fewer than seven assists. Yet, fans outside of Atlanta aren’t noticing. The same critics labeled him as inefficient after a few rough outings in playoff losses. Conveniently, they failed to acknowledge his shooting splits of 47.5/42.2/84.4 last month.

Every game played by Trae Young this December:

32 PTS 12 AST30 PTS 9 AST35 PTS 17 AST38 PTS 11 AST35 PTS 10 AST31 PTS 15 AST30 PTS, 14 AST30 PTS, 13 AST30 PTS 13 AST21 PTS 13 AST24 PTS 9 AST33 PTS 13 AST40 PTS 13 ASTpic.twitter.com/MROf5NTB6c

— kj (@ElonHatesKJ) January 1, 2024

People often say, “New year, new me.” While Young has carried his momentum from the end of the year into 2024. Last Wednesday, he displayed an outstanding playmaking performance against Oklahoma City’s top-five defense, finishing with a efficient 24 points and 11 assists. The victorious performance included a beautiful lob pass to teammate Onyeka Okongwu, resulting in a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.

If there was a perfect comparison between the NFL and NBA, it would be that Trae Young is the Kyler Murray of the NBA. Both soared to the top of their positional rankings before team struggles obscured them from the public eye. Fortunately, Young has a chance to reclaim some lost national spotlight tonight in a match against Haliburton. A stellar performance from Young could force fans to reevaluate their perception of him.