Is Trae Young playing today against the New York Knicks? Latest on Atlanta Hawks star's availability (April 5)

Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks find themselves jockeying for position in the play-in tournament. Though it doesn't seem likely that the Hawks (36-40) will secure an outright playoff spot, the most they can do now is to secure homecourt advantage in the 7-8 matchup, which will likely involve the Orlando Magic (38-40).

On Saturday, the Hawks take on the New York Knicks at State Farm Arena. For this crucial matchup, Young is listed as probable, as he continues to deal with Achilles issues.

NBA: Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks - Source: Imagn

Young has been plagued by a problematic Achilles throughout the season. Back in November, the Hawks were infamously fined by NBA commissioner Adam Silver for sitting out Young when he was supposedly available to play against the Boston Celtics. The Hawks cited right Achilles tendinitis as the injury that reportedly kept Young out of action.

Since then, Young has appeared on the Hawks' injury report multiple times due to his Achilles. But, to the credit of the four-time All-Star, he has missed just four other games aside from the showdown with Boston.

His availability in the game against the Knicks, a team that he has long tormented, will be a welcome development for the Hawks. This season, Young is averaging 24.1 points, 11.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. To date, the Hawks guard continues to lead the league in the assists category.

Trae Young accepts role with college alma mater amid March Madness

This past week, Young made himself available to another basketball program near and dear to his heart.

On Monday, the University of Oklahoma men's basketball program announced that Young — who was a one-and-done for the Sooners in 2017-18 — would be accepting a managerial role with the team:

"Excited to have Trae Young back with our program as Assistant General Manager!" the Sooners tweeted.

The move comes just days after Oklahoma lost to UConn in the first round of the 2025 March Madness tournament.

If all goes according to plan, Young's presence on the team will help the Sooners have a longer NCAA tournament run in the near future, as the team hasn't made it past the second round since its 2016 Final Four run.