Sometimes in life, if you don't laugh, you'll cry. On Thursday night, the NBA announced reserves for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Much to the chagrin of Atlanta Hawks fans, Trae Young was not selected as an Eastern Conference reserve.
What hurts most of all is the blame lands squarely on his peers. Among Eastern Conference players, Young finished fifth in fan voting, sixth in media voting (the "Boston media mafia" strikes again), and a flabbergasting 12th in players voting.
NBA players ranked Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball three spots ahead of Young. Yet, when the results came in, Ball had missed almost 30 games and had inferior production by every measure.
So, for the second time in three years, Young has been excluded from the NBA All-Star Game. The last time this happened (when the game was held in Atlanta in 2021), Young flipped the switch and led Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite Young averaging roughly 27 points and ten assists per game, Atlanta has been mediocre all season. The good news is the Eastern Conference is wide open, and it's not too late for one of Atlanta's patented late-season playoff pushes.
Young was not selected as an All-Star and likely will not be named to an All-NBA team. However, the greatest accolade is still within his reach for a player who espouses dreams of winning a championship.
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