Thursday, the NBA has officially unveiled all the dates for its 2024-25 regular season – outside the Emirates NBA Semi-finals and finals of the Cup, which will be determined by the results of the quarter-finals of this competition during the season.
But one influential young talent has taken offense at league decision-makers when he sees a certain holiday schedule.
Atlanta Hawks three-time All-Star point guard Trae Young recently chastised NBAplanners when he realized his team had been snubbed from doing a Martin Luther King Jr. Court appearance date: Monday, January 20.
Instead, two Turner Sports platforms will split the day’s three games. The lowly Charlotte Hornets will host the Dallas Mavericks, fresh off a Finals appearance, in the day’s opener, scheduled for 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET. That matchup will air on NBA TV.
Then, at 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET via TNT, the Memphis Grizzlies will host the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedEx Forum. The day’s schedule of nationally televised games will conclude with a 2022 game NBA A rematch of the Finals between the defending champions Boston Celtics and the revamped Golden State Warriors kicks off at 2:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. ET.
A disgruntled Young took to his official X account to voice his concerns.
“MLK is disappointed in you all… @NBA. I’m sorry Atlanta,” the 6’1″ veteran wrote.
The Hawks will actually play that day, against the New York Knicks at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET. NBAThe decision not to broadcast the game nationally feels a bit like a vote of no confidence in Atlanta. The Knicks, who finished 50-32 and second in the Eastern Conference behind Boston in 2023-24, remain one of the biggest NBA franchises, even though they haven’t had much playoff success over the past two decades.
New York has 34 national games scheduled this upcoming season, tied with Boston for third behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ 39 and the Warriors’ 36, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPointsThe Hawks, meanwhile, have just eight.
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Not much has gone right for Atlanta since the club surprisingly advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.
The team made two first-round playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023, while finishing with a miserable 36-46 record in 2023-24. That was enough for the team to clinch the tenth seed in the East and a berth in the play-in tournament, but Atlanta lost to the Chicago Bulls in their play-in game and ultimately missed the playoffs proper. The Hawks fired Nate McMillan, the coach who had led them to their longest playoff run in decades, and replaced him with Quin Snyder, who went 46-57 with the team in a span of a full season.
This summer, the Hawks traded Young’s teammate at guard, combo guard Dejounte Murray, to the New Orleans Pelicans. That move effectively handed the keys to Atlanta’s offense to Young. The former All-NBA Third Teamer averaged 25.7 points on a .430/.373/.855 slash line, 10.8 assists (against 4.4 turnovers), 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in his 54 healthy games with the team last year.
But the 25-year-old is one of the league’s weakest perimeter defenders, and his vulnerabilities at that end of the floor could be even more exposed this season than they were when he played alongside All-Defensive Team member Murray. NBA is pessimistic about Atlanta’s chances next season, even after the team jumps to 2024 NBA Plans to select French striker Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick.
Learn more: Atlanta All-Star Trae Young Takes on 2024 NBA Rookies
