Trae Young responds to Steve Nash's criticism

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles the ball while being defended by Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the first half at Barclays Center. Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Hawks All-Star Trae Young responds to Nets coach Steve Nash's criticism

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Charles Kruger | Last updated 1/20/21

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash directed some harsh criticism toward Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young a few weeks back.

During an outing between the Nets and Hawks, Young had a pick set for him, worked to get his defender directly behind him and then just stopped in place. The defender inevitably ran into Young from behind and got called for a foul.

Nash did not like that.

“That’s not basketball” – Steve Nash

Trae Young was drawing cheap fouls and Steve Nash was tired of seeing it, not being able to do anything about it. Coach Nash had to have a word with this ref. Talk heavy coach. #WeGoHard – @Keith_McPherson pic.twitter.com/tMEbkSD6Ga

— Talkin’ Nets (@TalkinNets) December 31, 2020

This week, Young responded to Nash.

“I saw that it blew up and everyone was talking about it,” he said, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “I bet if I was playing for Steve, he’d be happy. It’s something in the midst of competition that he was wanting to win, and I was wanting to win, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes. I think him wanting to get in the refs’ ears a little bit was just trying to help him. I learned a lot about drawing fouls from him. If he says it’s not basketball, he must’ve been saying it about himself because he’s done it a couple of times throughout his career and was so successful.”

So far this season Atlanta ranks second in the NBA in free throw percentage, shooting 81.9 percent. Young, meanwhile, is shooting 88.9 percent from the charity stripe and ranks second in the league when it comes to free throws attempted per outing with 9.69. The only person ahead of him is Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Young’s tactics work, so regardless of how Nash feels about them, he won’t stop them anytime soon.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

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