WATCH: Trae Young returns after 23-game absence with double-double performance

Trae Young fell to injury on February 23 and four days later underwent his first-ever surgery as a professional basketball player. The Hawks guard was finally cleared for practice on Monday, and made his way back to the NBA courts on Wednesday in their 115-114 loss to the Hornets. 

Despite missing out on 23-straight matches with a torn ligament in his left pinkie, he seemed stronger than ever and put up a double-double exhibition. The All-Star wore a black wrap on his left hand that covered his repaired ringer and only needed seconds into the game to prove this wouldn’t be a problem to compete.

The Atlanta guard dropped 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting, two of them were from beyond the arc, and gave out 11 assists and won 4 rebounds. “It feels good, my hand feels good,” he said postgame.

Trae Young in his return tonight:

14 Points
11 Assists
4 Rebounds
100% FG
100% 3P
100% FT
20 Minutes pic.twitter.com/gy2tHMX5uA

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 11, 2024

As the Georgia squad seems destined for the Eastern Conference’s Play-In Tournament, coach Quin Snyder anticipated that their superstar’s minutes would be restricted during these regular-season matches, as he only participated in 21 minutes against Charlotte.

“He seemed comfortable to me,” the trainer said about his guard, who hit his first basket with a left-handed layup two minutes into the game. “I didn’t do that on purpose,” Young then replied. “Well, I guess I did. It was natural to me.”

Atlanta currently hold the East’s 10th spot, but they are only one and a half games behind No. 9 Bulls, with three matches left. “We don’t necessarily control our own destiny with that, but we can do everything we can,” Snyder said about gaining home-court advantage over Chicago in the Play-In.

“More than anything, it’s important we’re playing well and get healthy to the extent that we can, too,” the coach expressed, as his team has been limited by a long list of injuries against the Hornets, including Dejounte Murray, De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson.

The recovered star has now the third most point-assist double-doubles of the 2023/24 campaign

Despite missing out on a month and a half of NBA action, Young still held his place among the best players of the competition. The point guard’s most recent performance placed him as the third player with most point-assist double-doubles of the present season with 36. Before Wednesday’s game, only Tyrese Haliburton (42) and Luka Doncic (37) had more.

The three-time All-Star achieved these numbers despite not playing in the fourth quarter. He ended 5-of-5 (100%) shooting from the field, made both three-point attempts, and also dropped a pair of free throws.

Coach Snyder’s main objective is to have as many athletes as possible healthy for the Play-In Tournament, and hopefully have Trae leading the pack and fulfilling his usual role.

“The biggest thing is it’s great to have him back and he’s excited to play,” Quin said. “How we manage those other things, sometimes it’s just time, not just for the group but for Trae to find his rhythm. That’s a natural part of coming back.”