Dominique Wilkins makes his feelings clear on Trae Young with powerful message: "Take us to the promised land"
Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, widely considered to be one of the greatest players in Atlanta Hawks franchise history, is all-in on Trae Young.
Although he may not have won a championship with the franchise, Wilkins' nine All-Star appearances and two NBA Slam Dunk titles with the team put him in rare company. He is one of the most accomplished and most beloved players in Hawks' history.
Currently, the NBA legend serves as the vice president of Basketball Operations for the Atlanta franchise, and from the sounds of things, he's got total faith in Trae Young. With the team on a two-game win streak, just one game outside of fifth place in the East, Wilkins took some time to gas Young up on Instagram.
In response to a post Young made celebrating his 11,000 career points, Wilkins wrote:
"The man! I believe in @traeyoung . Take us to the promised land my man! #finishthestory"
Dominique Wilkins also left another comment with a heart and several fire emojis as seen below:
Below, you can see the image carousel Young posted in honor of his career achievement, complete with a video of his No. 11 jersey in various colorways included in one of the slides.
"Trae Young has that IT factor" – Dominique Wilkins has been throwing his support behind Trae Young for years now
Since stepping into the VP of Basketball Operations role in 2004, Wilkins has seen talented players come and go without a second championship banner being hung in the rafters of State Farm Arena.
Following the Dikembe Mutombo era that stretched into the early 2000s, the team was competitive during the Joe Johnson-Al Horford era, and again during the Mike Budenholzer-Josh Smith era. Despite that, the franchise has been unable to get over the metaphorical hump with an NBA Finals appearance.
Back in 2021, after Trae Young led the team to a divisional title, Wilkins threw his support behind him during an appearance on #Greeny amid an impressive postseason run:
"There's very few guys who have that 'it' factor and not afraid and love the competition, love to compete. Trae Young is one of those guys. I mean he lives for the moment and that's how great players are made and he is no different and he's just an amazing little guy and has no fear.
"Trae and I have talked from the very first day he came in the league ... And I'm just so proud of this guy, what he's done."
You can see his comments beginning at the 90-second mark of the video above.
Following a late-game comeback against Chicago on Thursday en route to their second straight win, Young and the Hawks will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Miami Heat.