Trae Young has had enough of the disrespect.
The three-time All-Star will need to get a call as an injury replacement to make a fourth. It would be his first time notching back-to-back nods in his career. Instead, Young was snubbed again despite leading the league in assists.
Young plans to speak his piece, but he also believes that this latest All-Star snub has made him a verb.
“Y’all will hear my HONEST thoughts soon…,” Young posted on X on January 30 while plugging his “From the Point” podcast.
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 30, 2025
“& it’s no longer getting “snubbed” it’s getting “Traed” at this point,” Young said in a follow-up post. “Sorry to my fans.. it’ll change eventually!
“All right, talk soon!”
Young is now averaging 22.5 points, 11.4 assists, and 3.3 rebounds this season. His 48.3% effective field goal percentage is the second-worst of his career. Young has also connected on 34% of his looks from beyond the arc; the third-worst clip of his career.
Still, Young is the first player since Russell Westbrook in 2020-21 to average at least 22 points and 11 assists. It would be the 13th such line in NBA history if it holds.
Westbrook is the only other player with such a line that was not an All-Star in that season.
Mixed opinions on Trae Young amid latest All-Star snub
Young finished with 15 points and 10 assists in the Hawks’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. He was not terribly efficient, going 5-for-16 from the floor and 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.
His efficiency has been down all season, and former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy believes that is why Young lost out to other Eastern Conference guards like Cavs star Darius Garland.
“To me, it really came down to volume as opposed to efficiency,” Van Gundy said during the game on January 30. ” But in some ways, not fair to slight Trae Young for his lack of efficiency, because he has to do a lot more for his team offensively than Darius Garland does for his. He can't be as selected.”
Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was disappointed Young did not look to assert himself more.
“We thought he would come on with a little more ferocity, but I think he's taking this like a regular game,” O'Neal said during the TNT American Express Halftime Report on January 30. “When you feel like you're snubbed, that's when you come out chucking
“You come out with a ferocity, let all the voters and all the coaches know how you made a mistake.”
Young struggled after halftime, going 1-for-6 for 2 points with 1 steal.
His life is made more difficult by the loss of Jalen Johnson for the season. But the reality is the roster is not good enough around those two to sustain the loss of either for an extended period, leading to results like the current seven-game losing streak.
Young can still make the All-Star game as an injury replacement if he is invited and accepts the offer. But Young clearly (and rightly) feels slighted in this just as with other high honors.
His vows to change the situation may not be realized until his supporting cast improves.