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Trae Young Deserves to be in the NBA All-Star Game and Is Now the League's Most Underappreciated Player

Young did not make the initial team for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game

Jackson Caudell

Trae Young Deserves to be in the NBA All-Star Game and Is Now the League's Most Underappreciated Player
Trae Young Deserves to be in the NBA All-Star Game and Is Now the League's Most Underappreciated Player /
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The remaining 2024 Eastern Conference All-Stars were announced last night and Hawks guard Trae Young was not one of them. Despite being in the top ten in points per game and second in the NBA in assists, Young was left out. 

Now it needs to be said with Julius Randle and Joel Embiid's injury situations that Young could be named as a reserve. It is not a guarantee, but there is a path for Young to still make the All-Star Game. 

That does not take away from the fact that he still should have been named to the team in the first place. 

Last week when Young was not announced as an All-Star starter, I wrote that while I could see the case for Young not making the starters, he should without a doubt be one of the reserves. 

The arguments for leaving Young off are silly at this point and getting old. Let's talk about them, 

The first thing that anyone wants to do when arguing about how good of a basketball player Young is, they want to make it all about defense. There has been a narrative about Young being the worst defender in the NBA and that you can't build a good team around Young because of his defense, but this shows who actually watches and pays attention to the Hawks and who just goes with the narrative. I am not here to make the argument that Young is a good defender, but he has given more effort on that end of the floor and that is evidenced by his ability to take charges and steal the ball. 

The topic about Young's defense came up after the Hawks's loss to the Pacers earlier this year and Snyder was quick to praise Young for his effort on that end:

"I am glad you asked me that, I have been saying it all year and its whatever... there is a narrative that develops about someone. He has been good off the ball, he has been good on the ball, he has competed, I can show you a long edit of the times that he has picked up full court and someone should talk about it. It's not... when you talk about Trae tonight, you will talk about what a great offensive game that he had and he did but it is one of the things that I have told him, even early in the year when his shots were not going in, he did not stop defending and that is good to see, from all of our guys. That is the mentality that we have to have and there are some things tonight that obviously defensively that we can do better and we played against a really good offensive team."

Young is never going to make an All-Defensive Team, but he has put in the effort to try and make an impact on that end. 

Trae Young
Trae Young should have been an All-Star this year / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The next argument that people make is about the Hawks record. They will point to the Hawks's record of 20-27 and that they are one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA and blame Young for that record. 

I will say this: If you take Young off of the Hawks, their record would be definitely worse. 

Choosing All-Stars is always difficult and this year, the competition was tough. If Young was supposed to make it, then who should have been left off? 

I think every guard that made it, both starters and reserves, had a case to make it. I don't think Damian Lillard should be starting, but he should be on the team. I think the player that Young should be in over is Orlando's Paolo Banchero. 

Banchero made it as a wildcard on the team, but the arguments for him to be in over Young are almost non-existent. Young has a better statistical profile, and better-advanced numbers, and the Magic are not that much better than the Hawks. Banchero is a rising star in this league, but I don't think he should have made it over Young. 

The fact that Young put up the numbers that he did and finished second in fan voting, but did not make the All-Star Game is ludicrous. The arguments that fans and media make about Young can be made about other players who made the All-Star Game. It is wild that we have gotten to a point where a player with Young's stat profile and accomplishments is underrated, but after being snubbed from the All-Star Game again, Young is now the most underrated player in the NBA and the most underappreciated. 

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Jackson Caudell
JACKSON CAUDELL

Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell

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