Trae Young not looked upon favorably by his NBA peers in All-Star voting

The NBA All-Star game is around the corner, and the starters were just announced as voting results came in. Several earned first-time honors, whether as a starter or otherwise; Trae Young, however, wasn’t as pleased with the results. Among Eastern Conference guards, the Hawks’ superstar point guard came in fifth in the fan vote, which is no surprise, and sixth in the media vote, but 12th in the player vote.

Trae Young received the least amount of player votes for those listed in All-Star voting.

Trae doesn't seem to be liked by his peers. pic.twitter.com/GERnf282dS

— HawksMuse (@HawksMuse) January 27, 2023

It should just be more motivation for the young man because there’s no way on earth where Trae Young is the 12th-best guard in his own conference. Behind LaMelo Ball…? That’s just disrespectful.

• Trae Young per game stats: 27.1 points, 9.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 4.1 turnover, 42.6% FG, 31.8% 3P, 88.9% FT
• LaMelo Ball per game stats: 23.1 points, 8.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 3.1 turnover, 40% FG, 36.1% 3P, 87.8% FT

Young’s inefficiency from deep has been well-documented as a shortcoming this year, but that’s not who he has been over his career — a 35.5% shooter over his first four seasons. Even in a down year on similar attempts, Young is averaging more points and has always been a better playmaker. That’s no slight to the youngest Ball brother, either. He’s one of the most dynamic guards in the league, but Young’s passing ability is up there with LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Chris Paul.

The Hawks point guard is averaging the same amount of points as Kyrie Irving; granted, on less efficient shooting splits, but I can almost guarantee you that NBA players aren’t looking at the shooting numbers of these guys before placing their votes. They’re human beings and let emotions sway their decision-making, just like all of us. I have no idea what Trae Young did to the rest of the league, but I hope it fuels his fire for a second-half surge. The Hawks need their superstar to play like one.

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