Trae Young is a four-time All-Star. It took injuries for the Atlanta Hawks star to get the call for a reserve spot, but it was always deserved.
Young snapped a trend to start his career that had seen the guard alternate selections.
This season was tracking to be a repeat for the former No. 5 overall pick of the 2018 draft. But Young was selected to replace Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Young made his mark in the first game, too.
In just over six minutes on the floor for Team Chuck, Young was 2-for-2 for 4 points. True to form, he also had 5 assists.
Trae finds a cutting Wemby 👀 pic.twitter.com/nEYcCOr8zk
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 17, 2025
Young leads the NBA in assists, which is part of why many, including Charles Barkley, balked at his omission.
“I’m a little surprised on the Trae Young thing,” Barkley said on TNT after the league announced the initial All-Star rosters. “First of all, everybody [that made it] deserves to make it. I’m a little shocked Trae Young didn’t make it. Because he’s played probably, in my opinion, his best year.”
Former head coach Stan Van Gundy also defended Young amid the oversight.
“To me, it really came down to volume as opposed to efficiency,” TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, a coaching veteran of over 30 years, 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. [Young] can't be as selective.”
Young’s Team Chuck awaits the winner of Team Candace and Team Shaq in the championship.
Young’s team – highlighted as the “Global Stars” – included several notable members.
Formerly rumored potential teammates Pascal Siakam and Victor Wembanyama, fellow passing savant Nikola Jokic, and fellow dynamic scorers Donovan Mitchell and Shai Gilgeos-Alexander were all on the winning side.
Trae Young should be a perennial All-Star
Young’s plight is polarizing. He was long criticized for what many characterized as a me-first style of play.
He has long asserted that he prefers to pass and set up his teammates over scoring.
This season, Young had taken a step back as a scorer, a role that has long been required of him given the way the Hawks’ roster has been set up. And yet, he has still received criticism for not asserting himself more as a scorer.
Young’s playmaking is arguably his best ability, and it is fitting that he got to showcase that on the national stage with and against other stars.
Now, if the Hawks could only find the right co-star for Young and a healthy Jalen Johnson.