Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma basketball: Trae Young leads Atlanta to NBA East finals

By Chip Rouse

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 20: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots over Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Wells Fargo Center on June 20, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 20: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots over Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Wells Fargo Center on June 20, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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Trae Young didn’t play for a championship starring in just one season for Oklahoma basketball, but he’s on the verge of playing for one in his third season in the NBA.

College basketball has been over for more than a couple of months, but the NBA season still trudges on through the exhaustive playoffs.

If you’re a serious basketball fan, and an Oklahoma fan to boot, it’s been fun seeing former Sooner stars Young and Blake Griffin in starting roles in the playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, respectively.

Griffin’s Nets team was eliminated from the playoffs this weekend by a lower-seeded Milwaukee Bucks squad. Young’s weekend fortunes turned out differently as Atlanta upset the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers, in a thrilling Game 7 Sunday night on the road in Philadelphia.

With Young leading the charge, Atlanta has been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season, and now the No. 4 seed in the East is one series win away from the NBA Finals. But to get there, Young and his teammates are going to have to go through Milwaukee, the No. 3 seed.

The former Sooner superstar scored 21 points in the Game 7 win over Philadelphia, including a clutch 30-foot three-point shot with 2:31 to go in the game and Atlanta holding on to a slim 3-point lead. That shot widened the Hawks’ advantage to six points and proved to be the winning ,margin.

Young, who was a consensus All-American and led the nation in both scoring and assists as an OU freshman in 2017-18, averaged 29 points and nearly 10 assists per game in the Hawks 4-3 series win over the 76ers. He also averaged 29 points in an earlier 4-1 playoff series win over the New York Knicks.

Atlanta finished the NBA regular season with a 41-31 record, tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference with New York, with Young leading the team in scoring and assists. For the season, Young averaged 29.1 points a game, 10th best in the NBA, and was second in the league in assists, with a 10.4 average.

The Eastern Conference finals begin on Wednesday with Game 1 between Atlanta and Milwaukee in Milwaukee.

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