Credits: USA Today Sports

The frustration grew amongst the NBA followers as Trae Young failed to even make the All-Star reserves this time round. It marked his third snub from the event in the past four years, with the only exception taking place in 2022. The talks surrounding the matter gained further momentum as LeBron James voiced his angst publicly.

At first, an NBA follower initiated a narrative on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Trae Young is averaging 27 ppg and 10.7 apg IN THE LEAGUE!! I don’t think you fully understand how great at basketball you have to be to put up those type of numbers as a 6’1 PG and he can’t sniff the All-Star Game”.

Interestingly, James aligned with the belief, commenting,

“AGREED!!!”. I’m not quite understanding this! Cause it can’t be about Ws/Ls cause cats have definitely gotten in with wayyy nastier records in the past. He be cooking EVERY NIGHT! Stop it! He’s an All- for sure. Something is REAL FISHY.”

This conversation spurred into the limelight following Young’s match-defining performance against the Phoenix Suns. In front of the home crowd, the Atalanta Hawks guard registered a double-double of 32 points and 15 assists in 42 minutes to help the hosts triumph. This further extended his impressive run of form as the 25-year-old remained one of the only two NBA players to record 20-10 this season.

So, his exclusion from the All-Star event thus had little to no justification as his stat line made him a leading player in the league. The supporter pointed out precisely that as he simultaneously shed light on the hardship of a 6ft 1″ point guard in the modern game. On top of that, the 4x champion indicated how the Hawks’ record had nothing to do with the selection as players with worse team records had received a selection in the past.

All in all, the situation resulted in Young’s second consecutive All-Star snub despite averaging 25+ points and 10+ assists on each occasion. Not only him but the stat line of several stars failed to aid them in the selection for the event. The list notably includes the Sacramento Kings duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis alongside former All-Stars Rudy Gobert and James Harden.

How did Trae Young react to the exclusion?

The 2x All-Star was overlooked despite ranking second in the fan voting for the weekend. Reflecting on the instance, the Texas-born decided to maintain silence on the matter. He mentioned, “I got a lot of love for the fans. I ain’t got much to say about it right now,” before expressing his willingness to join as a replacement if required.

Soon after that, the NBA guard backed himself publicly, shedding light on his recent display. He posted a snippet of his offensive endeavours on Instagram, with the caption, “Born a Star, still a Star. Always will be a Star. We Move”.

So, his faith in his ability has remained unshaken despite the setbacks along the way. Counterintuitively, they have rather made him more focused and dedicated as an athlete over time. Thus, it would be interesting to witness whether these obstacles turn him into more of an unstoppable force on the court.