Did Trae Young Deserve An All-Star Starter Spot?
The starters for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game were just announced and Hawks point guard Trae Young was not one of the starters that was selected.
Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Joel Embiid will be the starters for the Eastern Conference. Young was competing for one of the starting guard spots and was 2nd in the NBA fan voting among Eastern Conference guards during the last vote reveal, but was not selected to be a starter.
Here is how the starters were determined per the NBA:
"Through the NBA All-Star Voting presented by AT&T program, fans were able to vote for their favorite All-Star starters from Dec 19 to Jan. 20. NBA players and media also joined fans in selecting the NBA All-Star Game starters. Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each. Players and media will be able to complete one ballot.
After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference will be named NBA All-Star Game starters. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score."
So the question is, did Young get snubbed for a spot?
I think he has a case to be a starter, but I don't think it is a crime that he did not make it. The Eastern Conference was very competitive at guard this year and Haliburton seemed to have a spot locked up for some time now. Young made a strong case to be an All-Star, but his team's record and his reputation on defense (which has been overstated this year in particular) probably cost Young a spot this year.
Haliburton and the Pacers have been one of the stories of the NBA through the first half of the season and he had a big lead in the fan voting over Young and others. Haliburton leads the NBA in assists and led Indiana on a run to the in-season tournament championship. I think he is fully deserving of a spot as the leader of the No. 1 offense in the NBA and the top assist leader in the NBA by nearly two assists. He has been a shoo-in for a starting spot.
Trae Young was not named as an All-Star game starter
With Haliburton a lock, the other starter spot was going to come down to Young, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, and Tyrese Maxey were the other strong contenders for that spot.
The biggest thing that every other contender for the spot had over Young is their record. The Knicks, Cavs, 76ers, and Bucks are all vastly better teams than the Hawks, and record can be a big part of the All-Star discussion, fair or not.
Mitchell has been carrying Cleveland for the better part of a month with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley out and Cleveland is now in 4th place in the East. Mitchell is the sixth leading scorer in the NBA, averaging 27.6 PPG.
Brunson has had another terrific season for the Knicks and he was very deserving of the other guard spot. He is averaging 26.6 PPG (12th in the NBA) while shooting 47.5% from the field and 42.3% from three. Brunson is also averaging 6.5 APG and the Knicks are tied with the Cavs for No. 4 in the Eastern Conference.
Bucks guard Damian Lillard
Maxey has blossomed into the 76ers second star and has been deserving of a spot on the All-Star team. He is averaging 25.8 PPG this year on 45% shooting from the field and 38% shooting from three. He is one of the leading contenders for the NBA's Most Improved Player.
Young, Brunson, and Lillard all have poor defensive numbers, but I think Young has played with more effort on that end of the floor, taking charges and being opportunistic with steals. Per Cleaning the Glass, teams' offenses are +7.9 points better when Brunson is on the floor, which is in the 6th percentile in the NBA. Every guard that was in the running had better defensive on/off numbers.
The guard spot had a lot of competition and I think any of the other players that were up for it had a deserving case, including Young. We will have to wait and see if Young is picked to be an All-Star reserve by the coaches.
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