Hawks Star Trae Young Takes Issue With Team USA Snub

Young took to Twitter to apparently lament being left out of consideration to replace Bradley Beal on Team USA.

Less than two weeks before the start of the Tokyo Games, Team USA is in the process of finding a replacement for Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who will not travel to Tokyo after being placed in health and safety protocols on Wednesday. Though it's unclear who will be tabbed as Beal's fill-in, one star player apparently is out of the running.

Hawks point guard Trae Young tweeted a clip from The Last Dance, in which Isiah Thomas laments being left off of the 1992 "Dream Team." Though Team USA hasn't announced whom it's considering for the spot on the team, it appears Young is not in the running.

..😔🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/R7qPMlfhg5

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) July 15, 2021

In his third season with the Hawks, Young averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game over 63 games, leading Atlanta to the playoffs for the first time in his career. He reached a new level during the postseason, averaging 28.8 points and 9.5 assists per game as the Hawks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In 16 postseason games, Young topped 30 points eight times, with a high of 48 in a Game 1 win over the Bucks in the conference finals. He also became the youngest player to record 25 points and 15 assists in a playoff game in Game 4 of the conference semifinals against the 76ers. It was overall one of the best playoff debuts ever, but apparently wasn't enough to garner an invite from Team USA. 

Team USA has gotten off to a rocky start in its lead-up to the Games, losing two straight exhibition games to Nigeria and Australia. The team bounced back for a 108-80 win in its last tune-up game against Argentina on Tuesday.

The U.S. has won gold in men's basketball 17 out of 19 times at the Olympics, including in each Games since 2008.