The NBA is moving into a new era.
Ball movement and ball security have never been as vital as they are today. Paramount in this search for offensive efficiency is the presence of a lead playmaker, as well as ancillary creators who handle the ball well enough as the lead maestro takes a seat.
Adding Trae Young back into the mix is exactly what Atlanta has been searching for to bolster their already impressive ability to maintain possession of the ball. While it will no doubt be a tall task for coach Quin Snyder to manage the ball dominance of Jalen Johnson and Trae Young as they share key minutes on the court, it is overwhelmingly likely that Young's ability to shoulder the load as Johnson rests will boost Atlanta enormously.
Fortunately for the Hawks, adding Young will likely boost them further up the rankings in a key metric that the last three champs have all topped the charts in - a metric where they already rank amongst the best.
The last three NBA Champions have maintained an elite assist-to-turnover ratio
Over the last three seasons, the champion has been top 3 in one key metric - assist to turnover (AST/TO) ratio. The 2022-2023 Nuggets, 2023-2024 Celtics, and 2024-2025 Thunder all took care of the ball extremely well while also swinging the rock to open shooters time and time again.
This year's Hawks are currently 6th in the league at an impressive 2.005 AST/TO metric. The only teams ranking higher are the Celtics, Heat, Thunder, Knicks, and Nuggets, two of which are only north of Atlanta by 0.05 or less.
Interestingly, in 2023-2024, nearly half the league possessed a team AST/.TO ratio of over 2.0 - more than double either of 2022-2023 (3) and 2024-2025 (7). This year's seven teams are more in line with the majority of recent years, a selective club that Atlanta is a part of, despite being largely bereft of their maestro.
This trend serves as a contrast to years before 2022-2023 - the Warriors, Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, and (multiple) Warriors rings were all won on the backs of their stars. While Jokic, SGA, and Tatum all have elite talent, their teammates have shouldered more of the load than the Robins of years past, allowing the offense to flow over star power, à la the 2014 Spurs.
In this new wave of team-oriented, rapid movement style offense, the Hawks are lined up perfectly with the champions of years past. Adding Trae Young to a team already rostering multiple active, efficient playmaking engines (Johnson, Daniels, Krejci, Kennard, etc.) will give Atlanta a boost - perhaps a boost significant enough to see them crack the top 3, as past champions have proudly touted.