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Trae Young: Five reasons the ex-Sooner superstar will make it in NBA

By Chip Rouse

CHICAGO, IL - MAY 18: Trae Young speaks with reporters during Day Two of the NBA Draft Combine at Quest MultiSport Complex on May 18, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 18: Trae Young speaks with reporters during Day Two of the NBA Draft Combine at Quest MultiSport Complex on May 18, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TX – FEBRUARY 13: Trae Young
LUBBOCK, TX – FEBRUARY 13: Trae Young /

Trae Young is not one to sit and wait, but that is exactly what he is going to have to do ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft.

By the time the NBA Draft rolls around on the calendar, it will have been 92 days since Young played his last collegiate game for his hometown Oklahoma Sooners. That’s a lengthy period of time to be in career limbo awaiting definitive word on where and for whom you will be playing next, but for prospects with exceptional skills and talent, like Young, the end reward is well worth the wait.

Young was at the NBA Combine last week in Chicago along with a number of other NBA Draft prospects, only he wasn’t there to participate in the on-court workouts.

The former Sooner superstar did go through the measurement process, and he reportedly participated in interviews with team officials for 13 NBA teams, including the nearby Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, the Thunder aren’t likely to get a shot at drafting Young unless they work a deal with another team and trade up for one of the high draft picks.

Young’s ability to shoot as well as distribute the ball with high precision makes him an almost certain top-10 pick in next month’s NBA Draft. In his only season at Oklahoma, the freshman led the nation in both scoring and assists, the only college player to do that since assists became an officially recorded statistic (in 1984).

A consensus First-Team All-American this past college season, Young did not dazzle with his superlative basketball skills at the NBA Combine, but he did make news while he was there, which he tends to do everywhere he goes these days.

Interviewed by ESPN staff writer Nick Friedell and other members of the media at the Combine, Young declared that he’s not just the best scorer in the NBA Draft, he’s the best player.

"“I think I’m the best overall player in this draft,” Young said. “My main focus isn’t necessarily to be the best player in this draft. My focus is to be the best player in the NBA.”"

Big words from a big-time player and prospect who has yet to play one minute of NBA basketball.

But no one thought he would lead the top level of college basketball in scoring and assists, become a first-team All-American and a top-10 NBA Draft prospect just one year removed from high school, either.

June 21 is going to be a huge day in the life of Trae Young and his family, a day the former Sooner has been planning for for quite a while.

Here are five reasons we think Young will indeed make it big in the NBA:

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