The Atlanta Hawks are 2-0 after the trade deadline, and now they can celebrate Trae Young’s good news as the positive vibes roll on following an active transaction window. Young was named to the 2025 NBA All-Star roster as an injury replacement.
It is Young's fourth career nod, and it snaps a dubious pattern for the former No. 5 pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.
This marks Young’s first back-to-back All-Star appearance.
“Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on Team Chuck in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game,” the NBA announced with a post on X on February 10.
“Young has earned his fourth NBA All-Star selection. He is averaging 23.5 points and an NBA-leading 11.4 assists per game in 49 games this season.”
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on Team Chuck in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 10, 2025
🗓️🌟 Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8:00pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/CQAeCa5CwI
Young scored 5 points while dishing out 7 assists and snagging 3 rebounds in the 2024 All-Star Game. Last season, Young joined Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes in replacing Julius Randle – then of the New York Knicks – and Philadelphia 76ers MVP center Joel Embiid.
That it had to come as a replacement only underscores Young’s initial snub.
“& it’s no longer getting ‘snubbed’ it’s getting ‘Traed’ at this point,” Young posted on X on January 30. “Sorry to my fans.. it’ll change eventually.”
Trae Young avoids historic snub
Young, who said he would share his thoughts on an upcoming episode of his “From The Point” podcast – perhaps from San Francisco during the break – would have been just the second player in history to have a stat line like he does and not be named an All-Star.
The other was Russell Westbrook in 2021.
“To me, it really came down to volume as opposed to efficiency,” TNT’s Stan Van Gundy said during the broadcast of the Cavs 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.”
Young left Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal disappointed with his showing in the first game after the rosters were announced, finishing with 15 points (and 10 assists) on 31.3% shooting.
Young has averaged 31.8 PPG and 11.8 APG in the five games since then. The Hawks have gone 3-2 in that span, a relatively strong stretch given their recent eight-game losing streak and the loss of Jalen Johnson for the rest of the season.
Perhaps this snapped trend can lead to another and the Hawks can make the playoffs.