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Age: 20

Per-Game Stats: 16.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks

Trae Young didn't exactly begin his rookie season in sterling fashion. Just under two months into his inaugural efforts with the Atlanta Hawks, he was traveling down an ignominious path toward some of the worst numbers ever accrued in the NBA.

But even during that rough opening, you could find flashes of positive production that indicated brighter days. You just had to look for them.

Now, they're much more obvious and coming with far more frequency.

During Young's last 20 appearances before the All-Star break, he averaged 20.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from beyond the arc and 81.1 percent at the stripe.

He became a legitimate playmaker operating within the flow of the offensive schemes rather than forcing the action and seeking out shooting attempts just for the sake of firing away. That's tremendous growth for a 20-year-old point guard, especially when he already boasts plenty of inherent ability and extreme passing vision that could easily make him one of the league's deadliest distributors.

Young will probably always function as a defensive anchor—not the kind who holds down the fort for a team, but the kind who drags down the entire unit with his inability to check his assignments. Turnovers continue to be an issue for this aggressive distributor, who can try to squeeze the ball into tight spaces a bit too frequently. His floater needs further development so it can serve as a reliable weapon.

But the pieces are coming together quicker than expected after the lackluster beginning to his career, and that should have the Hawks excited about what they can do with him leading the charge for a young nucleus that will only trend in the upward direction.

Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @fromal09.

Unless otherwise indicated, all stats accurate heading into the All-Star break and courtesy of Basketball Reference, NBA.com, PBPStats.com, NBA Math or ESPN.com.