Is Trae Young Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Hawks vs. Hornets)

The latest injury update for Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young on Thursday night against the Charlotte Hornets.

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has not played since he injured his knee back on Oct. 29, but it appears he's nearing a return to the floor.

Young, who is dealing with an MCL sprain, recently returned to practice for the Hawks and is officially listed as questionable ahead of Thursday's matchup with the Charlotte Hornets.

Trae Young (knee) questionable for Thursday.

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) December 17, 2025

The upgrade in Young's status is a sign that the star guard could play as soon as tonight , and the Hawks went from 4.5-point favorites to 5.5-point favorites after his injury status was announced.

This season, Young has appeared in just five games, averaging 17.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game while shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from 3. The Hawks have played pretty well in his absence, but their ceiling may be a lot higher with the star guard in the lineup.

Even with Young's status still up in the air, there is a player prop that I like for him if he's able to make his return on Thursday night.

Best Trae Young Prop Bet vs. Hornets

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Trae Young 7+ Assists (-173)

If he plays, there's a chance that Young's on a minutes limit, so I'm going to lay a little extra juice to get him at just seven or more assists on Thursday.

In his four completed games this season, Young had five, six, 10 and 17 assists for the Hawks, and he's averaging over seven dimes per game. He had just one assist before going down against Brooklyn in late October.

The Hornets are a great matchup for Young, who is by far one of the best playmakers in the NBA. Charlotte ranks just 28th in the league in opponent assists per game.

Young has averaged over eight assists per game in every season of his NBA career, and he's put up double-digit dimes per contest in each of the last three seasons, leading the league with 11.6 assists per game last season.

I'm buying him to hit this line even if he only plays around 20-25 minutes on Thursday.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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