Do not worry, Atlanta Hawks fans. If you were upset about a certain rising star – *cough* Jalen Johnson *cough* – being left off the 2024-25 All-Star team roster, you are not alone.
And if you felt Trae Young should be higher than he is, again, you are not the only one.
“Fresh outta surgery, and still a little loopy.. but, I’m still aware enough to know Jalen Johnson deserves to be on this list, and Trae needs to be higher,” Larry Nance Jr. posted on X on January 2. “That is all, go Hawks.”
Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 2, 2025
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
Next fan update: 1/9. pic.twitter.com/OoIIa3S3fn
Johnson is averaging 19.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists this season.
Five players are producing at least those numbers this season, including Johnson. The other four players – Alperen Sengun, Domantas Sabonis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic – have all made the first-wave fan ballot.
According to Stathead, just three players have put up numbers like Johnson’s and failed to make the All-Star team before this season, so there is precedent.
Before Russell Westbrook in 2021-22 and Sabonis in 2023-24, Jeff Ruland in 1985-86 was the last.
The arguments for and against Young are a little more nuanced, especially when he is compared to the four players ahead of him: Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, and LaMelo Ball.
Young is the lowest-scoring among the group at 22.3 PPG, the lowest mark since his rookie season, and much of it has to do with him being inefficient this season.
His 39.9% mark from the floor is a career low, his 33.8% mark on 3P? His third-worst effort.
Young leads the league in assists and has a 4.3-assist lead over No. 2 (Brunson), though. There is some hypocrisy baked into this as well. Three of the four players ahead of Young are on teams that sit higher in the standings than the Hawks.
However, the argument against Young in the years he did not make it was the lack of team success. Ball’s Hornets are 7-25, tied for the third-worst record in the NBA.
Ball and Lillard have each made fewer than 25 appearances too.
Young, Brunson, and Mitchell are all over 30 appearances logged so far. Fan votes account for 50% of the final count, with media and players each accounting for 25% of the final vote. The next fan vote will be released on January 9.
Hawks fans must vote early and often if they want to see their favorites get the recognition they deserve.