For the second time in his young NBA career, Trae Young, age 23, will be an All-Star starter.
In his fourth NBA season, Young joins the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan, the Nets’ Kevin Durant and the Sixers’ Joel Embiid in the Eastern Conference starter pool for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. The Western Conference starting pool consists of the Warriors’ Stephen Curry, the Lakers’ LeBron James, the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić, the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant and the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins.
The All-Star game is Feb. 20 in Cleveland. James and Durant will be team captains, since they finished with the most fan votes in each conference.
Fans voting accounted for 50% of the vote, and current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25% each. Reserves will be selected by NBA coaches. For Eastern Conference guards, Young finished at No. 3 in player ranking (46 votes), No. 2 in fan ranking (2,771,070 votes) and No. 2 in media ranking (54 total votes), with a weighted score of 2.25.
DeRozan was No. 1 in player ranking (155 votes), No. 1 in fan ranking (5,243,775) and No. 1 in media ranking (96 votes) for a weighted score of 1.0. The Bulls’ Zach LaVine was No. 2 in player ranking (73), but LaVine’s No. 3 spot in fan ranking (2,502,255) and No. 3 spot in media ranking (18) for a weighted score of 2.75 allowed Young to beat him out.
Young becomes the sixth player in franchise history to make multiple All-Star game starts as a Hawk, joining Dikembe Mutombo (two starts), Dominique Wilkins (three starts), Eddie Johnson (two starts), Pete Maravich (two starts) and Lou Hudson (three starts). He has established a reputation as one of the best passers in the league, and is shooting a career-high 38% from 3-point range this year (career-best 45.3% field-goal percentage, as well).
So far this season, Young is fifth in the NBA in scoring (27.7 points per game) and third in assists (9.3 per game). He leads the NBA in total points (1,191).
He was recently named Eastern Conference player of the week, averaging 31.3 points, four rebounds, nine assists and one steal, leading the Hawks to a perfect 4-0 stretch with wins vs. Milwaukee, Minnesota, Miami and Charlotte. Atlanta added another win vs. Sacramento Wednesday to keep the winning streak alive (five straight wins marks the longest active winning streak in the Eastern Conference).
The Hawks fell to No. 12 in the conference standings after a tough 17-25 start to the season, all the more disappointing given their trip to the Eastern Conference finals last year. But, they’re inching closer and closer to .500 on this successful stretch, with improved defense, consistent play from the bench and Young paving the way on offense all key factors.
Previously, Young was an All-Star starter in his second season, when he was fourth in the league in scoring (29.6 points per game) and second in assists (9.3 per game). In that year’s All-Star game (2019-2020), Young finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists in Team Giannis’ 157-155 loss to Team LeBron.
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