Doc Rivers says Trae Young has 'earned the trust of his players' - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers sees one drastic difference in Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young this season.

«He's earned the trust of his players,» Rivers said after the Bucks' practice Friday at T-Mobile Arena in preparation to face the Hawks in the NBA Cup semifinals. «This team likes playing with him. That's obvious. I couldn't say that in the past, but now they love playing with him.»

Young, 26, is a three-time All-Star who led the Hawks to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals, but he has frequently been criticized for being a poor defender and often portrayed unfavorably as a teammate.

Young, who is averaging 21.0 points and a league-leading 12.2 assists, indicated Friday that he considers the negative aspects of his reputation to be unfair.

«The narrative about me not being able to do certain things or being too mad or frustrated about certain things is — I mean, just aren't true,» Young said. «I think you're just now being able to see like with the young team we have, just some of the different things we've been doing this year, I think just now you're starting to kind of see it because the results are showing and we're winning now. We're here in this final four of the Cup, and it's a big deal.

»I think that's why you're seeing it and understanding it, but for me I've always been this way."

The Hawks have a young core headlined by All-Star contender Jalen Johnson, rookie No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and guard Dyson Daniels, who arrived as part of the trade return for Dejounte Murray, a former All-Star whose two-year partnership with Young did not produce any playoff series victories.

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