Trae Young scored a career-high in points in a postseason game and joined LeBron James in exclusive company with his performance vs. the Bucks.
Trae Young continues to impress. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals behind a postseason career-high 48 points from the former Oklahoma star.
Young, 22, joined LeBron James as the only players 22 years old or younger in NBA history to score that many points in a Conference Finals game. LeBron accomplished the feat in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons.
Anytime you’re in the same group as LeBron, you know you’re doing something incredibly special.
Trae Young career-high points in playoff game joins LeBron James in the record books
Trae Young finished with 48 points, tying LeBron James for the most by a player at age 22 or younger in a Conference or Division Finals game.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 24, 2021
LeBron had 48 against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2007 Conference Finals pic.twitter.com/Q5pg0Kede5
The next highest scoring output in a Conference Finals game by a player 22-years-old or younger was by Kobe Bryant who scored 45 points in 2001.
The Hawks needed every bit of Young’s 48 points too in the 116-113 win. Young shot 17-of-34 from the field, including 10-of-12 from the free-throw line but was cold from 3-point range, sinking 4-of-13 attempts. Young also added a game-high 11 assists and seven rebounds. He was that close to a 50-point triple-double at 22-years-old in his first Conference Finals. That is wildly impressive.
How did he not make the All-Star team this year, but Ben Simmons did?!
Revisionist history aside, Young is one of the budding superstars in the NBA alongside Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson. Unlike that trio, Young is the only one left playing.
Now, Young is three wins away from making the NBA Finals.