Trae Young shares his reaction to LeBron James and Bronny sharing the court and making NBA history

History was made in the NBA tonight. The long-awaited moment for LeBron James and his son Bronny James came late tonight in the second quarter of the season-opening game for the Lakers. For the first time in NBA history, a father-son duo took the court in a special moment.

Many members of the NBA shared their reactions to the cool moment, including Hawks star point guard Trae Young.

Young and the Hawks will close their season tomorrow against the Brooklyn Nets in Atlanta. Yesterday, the Hawks secured their top young player to a long-term deal, creating an exciting duo between Jalen Johnson and Young.

According to multiple reports, Johnson and the Hawks agreed to a five-year, $150 million dollar extension last night, and now Johnson will be a long-term part of the Hawks’ future.

In the 56 games played during the 2023-2024 season, Johnson averaged career highs in points per game (16.0), rebounds per game (8.7), assists per game (3.6), steals per game ( 1.2), blocks per game (0.8), minutes per game (33.7), three-point percentage (.355) and free throw percentage (.728), while shooting .511 from the field. He was one of only four players in the NBA last season to average at least 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals on .500/.300/.700 shooting splits, combined with Nikola Jokic, Bam Adebayo and Joel Embiid.

From 2022-23 to 2023-24, Johnson improved his scoring by +10.4 points per game (5.6 to 16.0) and rebounded by +4.7 boards per game (4.0 to 8.7). According to Elias Sports, he is the first player in the NBA to improve scoring by at least 10.0 points per game and rebounding by at least 4.0 rebounds per game from the previous season since Zach Randolph (2002-03, 2003-04 ). the second player to do so in Hawks franchise history, joining Cliff Hagan (1956-57, 1957-58) (min. 20 games played).

Johnson scored 10 or more points in 47 of his 56 games played during the 2023-24 season, including at least 20 points in 16 games. He owns 20 career double-doubles, 19 of which came last season.

In Atlanta’s win over Detroit on April 3, 2024, Johnson recorded his first career triple-double, finishing with 28 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and one block in 37 minutes of action. He became only the seventh player in NBA history to reach these minimums in a single game, joining Nikola Jokic (2x), Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Draymond Green, Magic Johnson and Fat Lever.

The 6-9 forward recorded eight games of at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists last season, the most such games in a single season by a Hawk since Josh Smith in 2012-13 (15). The 22-year-old had at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists five times last season and enters the 2024-2025 season eight such games from tying Bob Pettit (13) for the most 20p/10r/5a- games in the franchise. history of any Hawk 23 years of age or younger.

In 148 games (58 starts) across his three NBA seasons, Johnson owns career averages of 9.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.6 minutes (.506 FG%, .328 3FG%, .694 FT %).

The reason this is such a steal for the Hawks is that Johnson seems to be just scratching the surface of what he can do.

Johnson played in three of the Hawks’ four preseasons and averaged 16.9 PPG in 23 minutes per game on 69% shooting and 87% shooting from three, as well as 7.3 RPG. Of course, you can’t expect this type of three-point shooting this season, but it just goes to show how impressive Johnson has been this preseason.

Now he wasn’t perfect. He averaged four turnovers per game (way too high) and I would like to see his assist numbers go up and him become more of a secondary creator next to Trae Young, but that’s nitpicking. Johnson has looked great heading into the season and that should get Hawks fans excited.

Additional links:

Injury Report: Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets

Atlanta Hawks Basketball: Three bold predictions for the upcoming season

Jalen Johnson shares reaction to contract extension with The Hawks: “Atlanta is where I want to be”