The comparisons were inevitable for Trae Young and Steph Curry.
As soon as Young began lighting up social media and became a nightly fixture on SportsCenter with his dazzling highlights at Oklahoma, NBA fans immediately began tabbing the 6-foot-1 point guard as the heir apparent to Curry's limitless range.
Former Warriors general manager Larry Riley was the man who selected Curry back in 2009 at No. 7 overall, and now works in the Atlanta Hawks' front office that nabbed Young at No. 5 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. Riley joined KNBR on Monday, and explained that although the two had obvious similarities coming into the NBA, only one aspect of Young's game was more impressive to Riley than Curry when he came out of Davidson.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"The only thing he had over Steph was he's probably a little bit better passer," Riley told Greg Papa and John Lund. "The rest of it, Steph has the advantage. And Trae is still growing into the role that we'd like to see him take, he's done very well with it, and we just hope he continues to progress."
Riley currently serves as the senior adviser to Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk, who worked in the Warriors' front office for over a decade before taking the Atlanta job back in 2017.
[RELATED: Ranking five teams Warriors fans should want to win title]
While Steph's legend coming out of college came primarily because of his ability to pull up from all over the court and hit wild 3-point shots, Young's propensity for dimes set social media ablaze on a nightly basis.
Curry averaged just 5.6 assists per game in his junior season at Davidson, while Young was dishing out 8.7 assists per game as a freshman in a very competitive Big 12 Conference,
Young's ability to shoot was no joke either coming out of Oklahoma, and he's even made some bold predictions about usurping Curry as the NBA's best shooter in the very near future.
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
At only 21 years old, Young has plenty of time to chase Curry's throne and become the next top point guard in the Association. But for at least the next few years, Curry doesn't sound like he has any interest in giving up that crown.
[RUNNIN' PLAYS PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode]
