Exits: Shock therapy

What the jolt of this season, and losing Trae Young, has done for the Atlanta Hawks.

If there was a moment, it would be in Game 2 — Hawks vs. Knicks, 2021 NBA playoffs.

Side out of bounds, Hawks ball, inbounder: Trae Young. Madison Square Garden frothing with energy, anxiety; an immaculate backdrop for Young as he collected the ball to restart proceedings. It was in the moment, as the Garden shifted and shook, vitriol boiling and spilling over onto the court, that Young looked over his shoulder and smiled smugly.

Singular antagonist against a wave of the righteously angered. That moment, forever etched into my brain, exemplified what was special about that Hawks playoff run. Boundless confidence worn unapologetically on the sleeve, none more so than by Young, the leader of that charge.

It was the same confidence that had oozed from Young as he waved off assistance in Game 1, twisted left, right — six seconds — left again, right again — four seconds — blow by, fake to the corner, floater. Ball game. Young fell, bounced instantly back to his feet, swaggering back to half court, swarmed by teammates, basking in the deathly silence he had plunged MSG into.

Across the Atlantic and far away I was hovering over my laptop screen, revelling in this wild set of events; the ungodly hour and latent stress of university unable to quell my intense fascination. A quiet commitment was spoken in that moment — there was something special happening here and I wanted to be a part of it. And so it began, a fairytale playoff run for the Atlanta Hawks. It was a fantastic ride, all the way to the Conference Finals. Unlikely heroes, shots of adrenaline, the rollercoaster felt like it would never end and even when it did, excitement could not have been higher for the future. The Hawks had arrived.

Every franchise aims for a championship-level roster and at times being bad is a necessary step on the road to that end. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they were not nearly good enough to make any noise in the post season and not bad enough to draft the franchise changer needed to swing their fortunes. There they sat, in the dreaded middle.

In the four seasons post Conference Finals run, the team finished in the Play-In four straight times. The disease floats around like a spectre through State Farm Arena: mediocrity. For its many downsides, persistent mediocrity robs a franchise of exactly what made that ’21 team special — excitement, drama, gusto. Fans are lulled to apathy by the slow, gradual road to the middle. Despair feels out of place as true catastrophe has not struck, meanwhile hope becomes a finite resource as talent seeps away from the squad with every offseason.

This damning stat was being bandied about in early March: the team had gone 31-31 in their last 62 contests, but also 45-45 in their last 90, 67-67 in their last 134, 174-174 in their last 348, and so on. An incredible feat, but one that showed the crater of average Atlanta seemed to be sunk in. Even the lottery balls falling in the Hawks favour in 2024 were a mirage as the chosen one at the top of that draft, Zaccharie Risacher, has to date been serviceable at best and poor at his worst. While caveats abound for this specific outcome, it slots perfectly into the morass of mediocre that has gripped the Hawks for over a half decade. And as the heroics of cult heroes like Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams, Bogdan Bogdanovic faded even further out of view, the Play-In looming large for a fifth season in a row, Atlanta faithful didn’t have much to get excited for.

And then something happened. A win against the Trail Blazers at the start of March created a noticeable four game win streak, which stretched to five, and then 11. This was the fourth longest win streak in franchise history, the longest since Atlanta’s 2015 60-win team churned out 19 W’s on the bounce. There was something in the air again, we had almost lost the taste for it. Eyebrows were lifting in earnest wonder, Is something special happening here?

Photo credit Brett Davis

The answer, a resounding yes. The Hawks closed the season on a scorching 19-5 run, vaulting them out of the Play-In and into a comfortable playoff position, so comfortable that Quinn Snyder rested starters in the season finale at Miami. Jalen Johnson blasted past his impressive breakout numbers from a year prior, Onyeka Okongwu developed into a genuine stretch 5, Dyson Daniels continued to be elite on the defensive end and Nickeil Alexander-Walker was truly blossoming in an expanded role. Eventually, the brackets coalesced into form, a familiar foe stood between the Hawks and the second round — the New York Knicks.

I grew up a football fan (soccer for the uninitiated). Slight of frame, twinkle-toed, on-ball magicians are common fixtures in the lore of the sport and an essential ingredient in my dear Arsenal FC’s great many successes. Incredible mastery of the ball made them seemingly impossible to dispossess, 360-degree vision and technique to match allowed them to find passes through the tightest windows. Near-telepathic levels of synergy with fellow players made for some of the most incredible team goals you will ever see. I was nurtured on the legends of Ian Wright and Marc Overmars; grew up marveling at the exploits of Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla. I look forward to the next generation of diminutive savants to grace the carpet at the Emirates stadium. With that history, it was quite easy to fall in love with Trae Young. A supple pine among oaks, his preternatural talents thrust him to the focal point of every offense he’s played in.

He put up monster numbers in high school and college before being picked by the Hawks on draft night in 2018. In the seven years, Young blew hot and cold efficiency-wise but was a lock to provide spectacle. Logo three, crossover into a logo three, drive fake behind the back lob dunk — the highlight package is extensive. And even more impressive, he was never scared of The Moment. Young built a persona that thrived in high-stakes, late game scenarios. Pulling victory from the jaws of defeat, staving off certain disappointment, creating irreplaceable memories.

This was the Trae Young experience. In January this year, that era came to an end in Atlanta. As the small guard position continues its path to seeming-extinction in the NBA, teams find it harder to justify massive contracts for undersized players like Young who get picked apart on the defensive end, especially during the playoffs. The giants run the league now and the sprites need to call on near-mystical levels of craft to stay on the floor. Regardless, personalities the size of Young don’t come along too often, not with the ability to back up that confidence in the biggest moments. He was a critical part of my Hawks journey, and the shape of my fandom will never be the same.

The pang of this specific loss rang through me as Game 2 of Hawks vs. Knicks hurtled towards its finale. The Hawks down one at Madison Square Garden with 2 minutes to go and in desperate need of clutch scoring. Up popped CJ McCollum — layup high off the glass, floater in the paint, and the ridiculously difficult baseline fadeaway jumper against a strong contest — a 6-3 Hawks run, and the eventual victory. There’s just something about an Atlanta guard at the Garden that brings out the fireworks every time. There were more McCollum heroics in Game 3 as the Hawks jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but Knicks’ talent proved overwhelming and the series was over in six. That brought the curtain down on a complex season.

This was a loss in the first round, but it felt different. The Hawks now enter the offseason buzzing for the first time in five long, drab seasons. The road ahead is laden with potential for growth, with new playoff moments to replay endlessly. The sackcloth of mediocrity has been cast off, the grey of these last four years is lifting. It might’ve been shock therapy, but we have our swagger back in the A.