Trae Young earned his fourth All-Star appearance this season. However, it came only after injuries to players – specifically, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo – who were originally voted in ahead of him.
The honor still goes on Young’s resume. But it should not have come down to an unfortunate injury to create space for such an impactful player.
That is becoming clearer as the regular season winds down.
Young had the fourth-highest weighted score among Eastern Conference backcourt players in the NBA’s final tally. However, the Hawks star was passed over on the initial roster in favor of Miami Heat star Tyler Herro, who was ninth in that same metric.
Many argued in favor of Herro’s impact amid a 23-22 start for the Heat who were navigating turmoil with former star Jimmy Butler.
The Heat are 6-15 since the announcement that Herro was an All-Star.
Miami traded Butler – who had not played for them since January 23 – ahead of the deadline. The Heat are 8-17 since Butler last suited up for them. The Hawks are 10-13 since January 23, the last time Jalen Johnson played.
It was not just Herro either.
Trae Young's All-Star bid faced confounding hurdle
Damian Lillard and Darius Garland were fifth and seventh, respectively, in weighted score but also made the initial roster ahead of Young.
Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson scored higher than Young and started the game. LaMelo Ball was the only player with a higher weighted score than Young who did not earn a nod, but the Charlotte Hornets star had played 33 games to that point of the NBA calendar.
Young enters play on March 20 leading the league in clutch assists, points, and threes made.
He would be the first in league history to lead in all three categories if it holds. This is in addition to leading the league in total assists for the third time and per game for the first in his career.
Narratives have seemed to prevail over facts in Young’s case. Herro was more efficient than Young, scoring 1.1 more PPG up to that January 23 line. Herro was a better rebounder too, with a 2.3 RPG edge.
Young still averaged 6.2 more assists than Herro.
In the post-January 23 world, Young now leads Herro by 3.1 PPG and 4.5 APG. Young has even closed the rebounding gap, shrinking it to a 1.8 RPG advantage for Herro.
The pre-date stat lines were too close for the arguments that were being made in favor of Herro and against Young, who had alternated his All-Star appearances before earning his second straight this season, to hold weight.
It is clear who the better player is, especially as both navigate personnel changes.
The Heat overtook the Hawks in the standings between the teams losing Butler and Johnson, respectively, and the All-Star teams being announced.
So the Hawks had the advantage in record before the Hawks lost their second-best player. The Heat, meanwhile, traded their best player, Butler, but still had a three-time All-Star – and a five-time All-Defensive selection – in Bam Adebayo running alongside Herro.
All ended well, but Young’s initial snub from the All-Star roster looks even worse today.