Breaking: Raptors big Scottie Barnes and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young were named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. Young and Barnes will replace injured players Joel Embiid and Julius Randle.
It appears that the point guard for the Hawks will be an All-Star after all.
Young and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes have been selected as injury substitutes for Knicks forward Julius Randle and 76ers centre Joel Embiid for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, the NBA announced today.
Young has been named an All-Star three times now (2020 and 2022), and each time is well-deserved. With an NBA scoring average of 27.3 points per game and an average of 10.9 assists, Young is the second-leading scorer in the league. You could argue that he ought to have been on the squad from the start, but he has been among the most productive guards in the NBA this season, and for good reason.
Following Friday’s victory over the Phoenix Suns, Young was questioned about his decision to not play in the All-Star game. Here is what he had to say:
“I got a lot of love for the fans, but I don’t have much to say about it right now.”
Next, it was questioned of Young if he would accept an invitation to play in the All-Star Game as a replacement for an injury:
LeBron James and other NBA players have been agitating for Young to play in the All-Star game:
James said, “Agreed!!!” in response to a tweet concerning Young’s exclusion from the All-Star Game. This is beyond my understanding! Since cats have a history of getting in with much nastier records, it can’t be about Ws/Ls. He’s the one that cooks at night! Put an end to it! He is undoubtedly an All-Star. There’s definitely something off.”
