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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS — Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers sees one drastic difference in Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young this season.
“He’s earned the trust of his players,” Rivers said after the Bucks’ practice Friday at T-Mobile Arena in preparation to face the Hawks in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals. “This team likes playing with him. That’s obvious. I couldn’t say that in the past, but now they love playing with him.”
Young, 26, is a three-time All-Star who led the Hawks to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals, but he has frequently been criticized for being a poor defender and often portrayed unfavorably as a teammate.
Young, who is averaging 21.0 points and a league-leading 12.2 assists, indicated Friday that he considers the negative aspects of his reputation to be unfair.
“The narrative about me not being able to do certain things or being too mad or frustrated about certain things is — I mean, just aren’t true,” Young said. “I think you’re just now being able to see like with the young team we have, just some of the different things we’ve been doing this year, I think just now you’re starting to kind of see it because the results are showing and we’re winning now. We’re here in this final four of the Cup, and it’s a big deal.
“I think that’s why you’re seeing it and understanding it, but for me I’ve always been this way.”
The Hawks have a young core headlined by All-Star candidate Jalen Johnson, rookie No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and guard Dyson Daniels, who arrived as part of the trade return for Dejounte Murray, the former All-Star whose two-year partnership with Young did not produce any playoff series victories.
After a slow start, Atlanta has won seven of eight games, a run that started with consecutive victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who own the NBA’s best record.
“When you win, everything else takes care of itself,” Young said. “That’s kind of what’s happening right now.”
Rivers said it’s apparent from Young’s play that the guard has been “really studying the game on both ends of the floor.” He specifically credited Young for masking his defensive limitations by figuring out ways to keep himself out of actions when teams target him by communicating and switching.
“When we talk with Trae and we talk about Trae, the word I like to use is evolution,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Every player evolves. They just evolve in different ways. He’s been an important part of our young guys’ growth and being able to elevate them. … We know what a talented offensive player is, but I think in his mind being successful as a team, not just Trae, we’ve all got to do our part defensively. And he’s doing that.”