Atlanta Hawks: Could Trae Young become the Devin Booker of the East?

The All-Star Game will be in Atlanta this year, and an Atlanta Hawks player will not be a part of it. To be more specific, Trae Young was not selected as an All-Star reserve, after being a starter in the game last year.

The reserves for both conferences were announced Tuesday evening.

Young is currently averaging 26.9 points, which is good for 10th in the league, and 9.3 assists which is 3rd best among players this season. He was top five in both scoring in assists last season when selected as an All-Star.

The stats are not as far off, so why wasn’t he selected as a reserve?

First, you must look at how the backcourt of the Eastern Conference has shaped out. Kyrie Irving is healthy this season. James Harden has made his way into the conference. Jaylen Brown has ascended his way into a legit two-way player for the Celtics.

And then you have players such as Zach LaVine and Ben Simmons.

LaVine has definitely shown improvement in all areas of his game and is averaging 28.6 points. His playmaking has taken a leap, and his defense is better than seasons past. Not to mention, the Chicago Bulls are eighth in the Eastern Conference, and you can say it’s mostly due to LaVine’s play. He’s quite deserving of his first All-Star nod.

What does the NBA value more: Winning or stats?

Simmons is known to be one of the best defensive guards in the league. He may not offer much offensively, but he’s a great playmaker. This is where Young’s “snub” comes into play.

Simmons is averaging 15.2 points, which is around 11 less than Young has. He’s also averaging 8.0 assists, and Young has 9.3. It looks as if Simmons was picked because of his defense and where his team is ranked.

The 76ers do have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but Joel Embiid has been the driving force to the team’s success. Though the Hawks are 13-18, Young has shown that the Hawks go as he goes. You can’t say the same thing for Simmons.

At the end of last season, the All-NBA teams were released. After an outstanding sophomore season, Young got left off the teams, and Simmons made the Third Team, which is a credit to his defense. But that’s why they have an All-Defensive team, which he was named to eight days prior to being selected All-NBA.

If the reason Young didn’t make the All-Star team was because of his defense, then let’s talk about the seven players in the All-Star game that he has a worse defensive rating.

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young could reach Devin Booker “snub” levels

And if the league talks about the value of “winning” so much, then why was Devin Booker snubbed a spot in the Western Conference?

Is this the type of fate that Young will have to face for years to come in the Eastern Conference? Will he be the Devin Booker of Eastern Conference snubs? It sure does look like it’s heading in that direction.

The experts will tell you that the reason Booker hasn’t made many All-Star appearances because he’s an empty stat guy that doesn’t get his team into the playoffs. This year, the Suns are 4th in a very competitive Western Conference. No All-Star selection.

If we’re being honest, Booker still wouldn’t have his one lone All-Star appearance if it wasn’t for Damian Lillard being hurt last season.

This situation looks very close to what Young could face in the future if the Atlanta Hawks don’t start winning.

Is it his fault that they’re not winning? No.

Will he get punished for it anyway? Of course.

The All-Star game is made for the 12 best players in each conference for the first half of the season. You can argue that Young has been in that pool of players for the Eastern Conference.

When you’re top 10 in both scoring and assists for the season and not in the All-Star Game, the word “snub” will come up a lot in conversations. If there’s one thing you should know about Young, this is just going to make him a better player.