There are roughly 450 players in the NBA including the Atlanta Hawks, of course. Just two are averaging at least 25 points and 9.0 assists on the season. One of those players is an MVP candidate if not the frontrunner while the other could not even get selected to be an All-Star reserve despite several milestones surpassed this season.
The first player, the one rightfully receiving his due shine, is Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets; a two-time MVP, four-time All-Star, and four-time All-NBA selection.
The other is Trae Young who finds himself on the outside looking in with the voting now done.
Unfortunately for Young, this is just the latest slight in this year’s All-Star voting cycle after he finished 12th among backcourt players in the player vote. But there was reason to believe he would merit at least a spot among the reserves.
Is Trae Young’s All-Star ‘snub’ a reflection of the Atlanta Hawks’ season?
There is an argument to be made that the Hawks’ inconsistencies this season are the primary reason for Young’s snub. The Hawks are .500 on the season in many ways, not the least of which being their actual record which stands at 26-26, a trend for the Hawks as detailed in a tweet by Brad Rowland of ‘Locked On Hawks’:
"The Hawks are 26-26.The Hawks are 17-17 against the East.The Hawks are 9-9 against the West.The Hawks are 8th of 15 East teams.The Hawks have scored 6,057 points.The Hawks have allowed 6,057 points."
But two of the players who were selected to be reserves – DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers – are playing for teams in worse positions than the Hawks.
Haliburton’s Pacers are not even in the Play-In Tournament field following their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Hawks sure seemed to take notice with a pointed tweet of their own.
List of NBA players averaging 27 PTS and 9+ AST
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 3, 2023
Trae Young
End of list.
Young ranks 14th in scoring and fourth in assists. It’s the second time Young has been left off of the team in the last three years having been omitted from the exhibition matchup in 2021. If it’s any consolation, the Hawks went on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals that year facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The turnover argument? Young is tied with Antetokounmpo, a captain for the game, for the league lead with 4.1 per game. And, for all the consternation over Young’s poor shooting numbers from beyond the arc this season, they are still better than Antetokounmpo’s.
Defense? Not likely anyway in an All-Star game.
Probably late to this party, but hard to figure why Trae Young isn't on the East all-star team. Played a lot of games and the numbers are pretty fantastic. Paul George missed a lot more games, but made it in the West.
— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) February 3, 2023
Just one season after he led the NBA in total assists and total points, Young is again leading the former despite the dip in efficiency and he could always be an injury replacement.
In many ways, keeping his scoring totals afloat despite the shooting woes is promising.
His career suggests that his shooting will come back sooner or later. But, in the meantime, if he can continue being effective finding other ways to score the basketball while being the playmaker that he is, it will be that much greater when it all comes together. Perhaps it could even spark another deep playoff push.