In an era where superlatives fly as high as the athletes who earn them, Trae Young's recent claim on a podcast has elevated the discourse to skyscraper heights. The Atlanta Hawks phenom, already boasting a formidable career average of 25.5 points and 9.5 assists, asserts that a hypothetical growth spurt would not merely make him a towering presence but would transform him into the sport's greatest player of all time. His statement stirs the pot of impassioned NBA conversations about innate talent versus physical advantages.

Young's career statistics warrant attention. Averaging 25.7 points and a career-high of 10.8 assists in the most recent season, Young's mental agility and basketball acumen stand beyond question. But, stepping into the hypothetical realm where he stretches to 6-foot-8 necessitates more than a quick look at numbers. His assertion touches on a deeper, perennial sports narrative exploring the intimate dance between an athlete's physical endowments and their technical and mental prowess.

At its core, Young's 'what if' probes the sports world's fascination with the marriage of physical traits and skill. Basketball, particularly, has seen players like Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson defy height expectations, while others like Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal used their size to dominate. It brings into question the weight we place on physical attributes and how they can both assist and overshadow pure skill and IQ, the traits Young suggests he has in abundance.

While Trae Young's musings on stature remain a flight of fancy, they open a dialogue on the future of player development. With advancing training and medical interventions, will we see a redefinition of positional roles based on height? Can the 'small giants' of the court continue to redefine norms and inspire future generations that skill can trump size? The conversation Young has sparked is far from over; it will evolve as the game does.

Whether Trae Young would soar to the title of 'best ever' with an extra seven inches is a conversation for barbershops and sports bars, arenas of debate as raucous and passionate as the ones he commands on the court. Yet beneath the layers of hypotheticals, Young has already grown to impressive heights in his career. His game, much like Cinderella's slippers, fits just right, and fans are enchanted by the tale - regardless of its dimensions.