Hawks guard Trae Young is now a three-time All-Star.
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver named him as an injury replacement to the Eastern Conference team for the NBA All-Star game. Silver also named Raptors third-year forward Scottie Barnes as a replacement.
Both Young and Barnes will replace injured 76ers center Joel Embiid and Knicks forward Julius Randle.
For Young, though, the naming to the All-Star team comes after the perceived snub when the league announced the reserves Thursday. Young finished second in fan voting, but did not make it as an Eastern Conference starter after finishing sixth in the player vote and sixth in the media vote.
NBA coaches chose the reserves for the All-Star game, with Young noticeably not among them. But the 25-year-old guard said that should he get the nod as an injury replacement, he would play. He understood that the honor was bigger than him.
“Yeah, I would (play) just because I know I’m not representing just myself,” he told reporters last Friday. “Instead of me being selfish and being a (jerk) towards it, I’m just being honest – I could, but I know I’m not representing just myself. I haven’t even been offered yet so who knows if they will offer me. That’s how funny it is. But if they do, I would go.”
This season, Young has averaged 27.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 10.9 assists in 45 games. He ranks eighth in the NBA in points, second in assists and seventh in both steals and minutes per game. He also ranks fourth in 3-pointers made, with 154.
On Monday, he earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Jan. 29-Feb. 4 after helping to lead the Hawks to three consecutive wins against some of the league’s superstars and their teams. In that span, averaged 31 points, 11.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game all while making 56.9% of his overall shots and 64.5% of his 31 3-point attempts.
The All-Star game will be played Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the Pacers, in an East vs. West matchup.
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