Hawks Star Trae Young Pulls Up Receipts Proving He Predicted $150 Million Teammate’s Breakout

The Atlanta Hawks didn’t get the result they wanted against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 1, losing by a single point after entering the night riding back-to-back wins. Still, something bigger is happening underneath the scoreboard.

Jalen Johnson has fully unleashed his wild productivity and is turning himself into one of the most complete young forwards in basketball. And while fans are just catching up, Trae Young insists he saw the leap coming long before the breakout became impossible to ignore.

Trae Young Recalls His Predictions About Jalen Johnson

Johnson dropped 29 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the loss to Detroit, the latest chapter in what has quietly become one of the best all-around starts in the league.

Through the season so far, the 23-year-old is posting 23.2 points, 10 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game on 53.9% shooting. Those are All-Star numbers, and they’ve arrived consistently.

Young, still recovering from a sprained MCL that has limited him to just five appearances, used his “From the Point” podcast to highlight Johnson’s rise.

“That boy is a star,” Young said, sounding less surprised than proud.

Then he brought visual proof. Young played an old clip of himself predicting this exact leap:

“He is so talented,” Young said in that earlier segment. “He can rebound and push it like a guard, play above the rim like a big, and with the way he’s shooting it now? He should be one of the most improved players. I mean, he is a hell of a player.”

In the present-day episode, Young doubled down.

“Don’t act like I didn’t warn you,” he said. “This dude has so much game that I don’t even think he really understands the potential he has.”

Young added that the Hawks are still only seeing the beginning.

“What you’re seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg. He’s been carrying us, putting up crazy numbers, playing super efficient and playing exactly the way everyone who’s been around him knows he can.”

Johnson signed a five-year, $150 million contract extension with the Atlanta Hawks. He was picked 20th overall in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft by the Hawks.

Johnson’s Surge Has Hawks Holding Steady Even Without Young

Johnson’s ascension hasn’t come out of nowhere. He has always possessed elite physical tools and playmaking instincts, but injuries repeatedly stalled his early development.

Now healthy, he’s finally stringing together the kind of production that once made him one of the NBA’s most intriguing prospects.

His resume this season already includes an Eastern Conference Player of the Week award after leading the Hawks to a 4–0 road trip.

On Nov. 13, the second night of a back-to-back, he delivered a jaw-dropping stat line: 31 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, and seven steals in a 132–122 win over the Utah Jazz.

That performance made Johnson the first player since steals became an official stat in 1973–74 to record at least 31 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists and seven steals in a game, and only the seventh player ever to produce a 30-point, seven-steal triple-double.

All of this has helped the Hawks stay afloat without Young, who is expected to miss at least two more weeks. Even with their star guard sidelined, the Hawks sit seventh in the Eastern Conference at 13–9 and continue to play confident, sharp basketball.