Peachtree Hoops: Trae Young not named an All-Star starter

[Hawksquawk]

Photo by Mercedes Oliver/NBAE via Getty Images

Trae Young was not named as an All-Star reserve for this year’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The announced backcourt for the East is comprised of Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton.

Young has averaged 26.9 points, 10.8 assists, and three rebounds per game this season, though he’s missed the last two games while in concussion protocol. In the latest release of fan votes, Young finished in second place behind Tyrese Haliburton, who fans separated from the bunch. The approximate 2.27 million votes would rank him fifth in the East overall.

The fan votes were worth 50 percent of the returns, while current players and media made up the other 50 percent of votes.

Final Fan voting returns for the All-Star game.

(via @NBAPR) pic.twitter.com/XtYQM05kXK

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 26, 2024

While the fan voting was impressive, the player and media votes told a much different story. Young received one measly vote in the East backcourt, and the questionable distribution of these votes can be seen below.

Total media votes, East guards:

Tyrese Haliburton 97
Jalen Brunson 48
Donovan Mitchell 25
Tyrese Maxey 20
Damian Lillard 9
Trae Young 1

— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) January 26, 2024

As far as player voting, he ranked 6th.

Three voting groups determined the starters:

Fans (50%)
NBA players (25%)
Media panel (25%)

Complete voting results here: https://t.co/7NuxV72HZh

Below are the overall scores for the top finishers at each position. pic.twitter.com/nTZD7buDOG

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 26, 2024

So, did Trae Young deserve this All-Star spot? His points per game rank second behind Donovan Mitchell, and his assists per game rank second behind Tyrese Haliburton. Though Hawks fans know the general attitude towards Young during All-Star voting season, it felt possible he’d be a starter.

In December, Young put together a streak of seven-straight 30 point and 10 assist games, tying Oscar Robertson for the longest such streak of all time. Unfortunately, if one’s name is not Trae Young, that may solidify one as an All-Star. The one thing that made be held against Young is his team’s record, but many players, including Haliburton last year, get the benefit of the doubt when their team is below .500.

He now has a chance to be selected as an All-Star reserve, but fan-voting carries no weight in that decision. It will be purely up to head coaches across the NBA. As far as the TNT crew, Shaq was the only one to put Young on his All-Star team.

The Inside crew's East All-Star reserve picks

Who will join the #NBAAllStar starters in Indy? pic.twitter.com/m6K3mz8eIL

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 26, 2024

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