Trae Young speaks his truth, the trade that fueled him, why he left the Hawks, regrets from Atlanta's ECF run, Washington future, MSG's villain, criticism, chasing greatness, protecting family, Jalen Brunson & De'Aaron Fox.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
LaMina Moll steps into McDonald's, looks left, sees Policik, looks right, sees Jimenez. Gives a nod to Ronaldinho in the corner with a FIFA World Cup meal.
Ronaldinho sees Son in the booth. Son finds Beckham going for extra Big Mac sauce. He's got Davies at the table just behind him. Davies going for his collectible cup. Oh, a steal by Henri, who pulls his own collectible cup. Collect one of nine legendary cups with a FIFA World Cup meal. Participating McDonald's for a limited time. While supplies last, all rights reserved. All rights reserved for the FIFA World Cup 2026 McDonald's at FIFA World Cup 2026

**Fred Taylor** (0:30)
Everyone loves the highlights, deep threes, logo shots, the bow at Madison Square. The villain role he's embraced in arenas across America. Trae Young has done all of those things, but you'll learn today he's much more. People didn't always see the road that built the man. Growing up in Norman, Oklahoma wasn't always easy. He lived in the shadow of expectation. He navigated a complicated relationship with his father and he even gets emotional thinking about his brother growing up in the same place that he did. And Draft Knight, one of the most talked about trades in NBA history, a deal that will forever link him to Luka. And from that moment, every accomplishment, setback, playoff run would be measured against someone else's success. But all Trae did was become the face of a franchise, lead Atlanta to places no one ever thought possible. He silenced crowds, he created moments, and he built a career that deserved more respect than it's gotten. But now he's on to the next chapter in Washington, a new city, a new opportunity, another chance to prove what he spent his entire career proving, that no matter how many people doubt him, overlook him or underestimate him, Trae Young always finds a way. Today, we talk family and pressure. We talk about expectations and how difficult they are to live up to.
Atlanta to Washington, fatherhood and even brotherhood and how those things are linked. And the weight of carrying a name, people love to debate. This is a conversation about proving who you are when the world keeps trying to tell you who you're supposed to be. And sometimes they even say, F you, Trae Young. But not today, because we're excited to welcome.
You did it right.

**Channing Crowder** (2:47)
Bro, I wasn't mad at nobody. I had bad knees. And I asked my wife when we met, when I started dating her, dating her, I was like, how's your knee health?
Because I had to breathe in some good knees.

**Trae Young** (2:57)
He was already playing. That's crazy.

**Fred Taylor** (3:01)
Hey, let's stop talking about breathing.

**Trae Young** (3:03)
Yeah, let's please.

**Fred Taylor** (3:05)
You do it, man.
Let's stop talking about that. Trae Young, man, welcome to The Pivot. Appreciate it. Just excited to have you, man. Four-time All-Star, All-NBA player. This is Fred Taylor, Channing Crowder, Ryan Clark, Pivot Family. Thank y'all for pivoting with us. Man, you listen, now, I'm gonna tell you, you gotta be damn good to get people to come to Norman, Oklahoma.

**Trae Young** (3:24)
Yeah, I agree. I agree.
I agree. There's not much around here, so I appreciate y'all coming. I definitely feel special that y'all pulled up.

**Fred Taylor** (3:32)
Nah, man, we excited about it. Trae, man, I feel like eight years went by really fast.
You know what I mean? Like 2018 draft to now, I feel like that was like that. How has it felt to you sort of just the journey from, you know, leaving Oklahoma to where you are in your career now as a seasoned veteran?

**Trae Young** (3:53)
Ah, man, that's a great question to start.
It really has felt fast. Wouldn't trade any moment that I've had an NBA bag for anything. I mean, being in Atlanta was unbelievable. Obviously, y'all see Norman is not anything close to something like Atlanta. So for me, going there and them welcoming me, like it was somewhere that I've been my whole life, was amazing. But it's like, it's crazy how eight years just went like this. And, but that's the best thing about this business and the best thing about being where I'm at is like, you always have something coming next and I just want to embrace that.

**Channing Crowder** (4:33)
And bruh, like the whole thing coming in, I know you've heard it a thousand times, the next step. Light skin, small guard can shoot threes, the next step thing. Like people putting that on you and you can't control it, that's narratives in the media. But putting that narrative of it, like how did you take that in being a young player and everybody's calling you next step?