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Jan 9, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) celebrates a shot against the Phoenix Suns in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Trae Young Receives Prediction To Make 2025 Eastern Conference All-Star Team

Originally posted on Atlanta Hawks on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Jan 10, 2025 2:07 PM ET

The 2025 NBA All-Star game is getting closer and closer. The All-Star Game starters are going to be revealed on Janaury 23rd and then the rest of the reserves will be revealed one week later on the 30th and the Hawks have two candidates to be an All-Star. Point guard Trae Young is a three-time all star and is under consideration to make his fourth All-Star team next month. Forward Jalen Johnson is having a great start to his season despite missing some recent games and is also getting a lot of consideration to be an All-Star. Neither are locks to make it and Young is likely to have the better case given that he leads the league in assists and is one of the best playmakers and shot creators in the sport.

When tasked with making All-Star predictions, ESPN's Kevin Pelton picked Young to make the team as a reserve guard for the Eastern Conference, while Donovan Mitchell and LaMelo Ball were picked as the starters.

"I left Young off my first version of All-Star teams because of his slow shooting start. Young's efficiency has picked up in December and January, and the Hawks' run to the NBA Cup semifinals will probably appeal to coaches, who prefer to reward winning teams. Add in Young's league-leading 12.2 assists per game and I'd narrowly put him at the top of a deep group of guard candidates."

During the lastest batch of fan voting, Young was 5th among the Eastern Conference guards, behind Ball, Mitchell, Damian Lillard, and Jalen Brunson.

Young is currently averaging 22.5 PPG on 40% shooting from the field (56.4 True shooting percentage) and 34% from three, while also leading the league in assists per game (12.2) and assist percentage (46..3%). He has guided the Hawks to a 19-19 record and has them in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

The All-Star format is going to get a bit of a makeover this season. From NBA.Com:

"For the first time, the NBA All-Star Game will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games. Two teams will meet in one semifinal (Game 1), and the remaining two teams will meet in the other semifinal (Game 2). The winning teams from Game 1 and Game 2 will advance to face each other in the championship (Game 3). For each game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points.

Each team will have eight players and be named for a TNT NBA analyst. The 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three teams, with the rosters drafted by TNT’s Inside the NBA commentators and honorary team general managers Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The three analysts will make their respective picks for Team Charles, Team Shaq and Team Kenny live on TNT in the NBA All-Star Draft, which will be conducted on Thursday, Feb. 6 just before the network’s doubleheader that night.

The fourth team will be the winning team from the championship game of the Castrol Rising Stars, the annual showcase of top first- and second-year NBA players and NBA G League standouts, which will be played on Friday, Feb. 14 during NBA All-Star 2025. TNT analyst and WNBA legend Candace Parker will serve as honorary GM of the Rising Stars champion, known as Team Candace.

The voting process to determine the 24 NBA All-Stars will remain the same. The five players honored as starters in each conference will be selected by fans (50% of the vote), current NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). The seven players honored as reserves in each conference will be selected by NBA head coaches. See below for more information about NBA All-Star voting.

The four NBA All-Star Game head coaches will come from the coaching staffs of the teams with the best regular-season record in each conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 2. The head coach of the leading Eastern Conference team and the head coach of the leading Western Conference team will each coach an NBA All-Star team. An assistant coach from one of those staffs will serve as head coach of the Castrol Rising Stars champion, and an assistant coach from the other staff will coach the remaining All-Star team.

The four teams participating in the NBA All-Star Game will compete for a prize pool of $1.8 million, with each player on the championship-winning team receiving $125,000, each player on the second-place team receiving $50,000 and each player on the third- and fourth-place teams receiving $25,000.