Despite already making three NBA All-Star teams in his career, Trae Young is feeling slighted that he didn’t make the cut again this year.
On Thursday, the NBA officially announced the reserves (selected by the league’s head coaches) for the 2025 All-Star Game. The four max available spots for backcourt players in the East went to Damian Lillard (Milwaukee), Cade Cunningham (Detroit), Darius Garland (Cleveland), and Tyler Herro (Miami). With Jalen Brunson (New York) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) already in as starters, that left the Atlanta Hawks star Young on the outside looking in.
In a post to his X page, Young reacted to the snub with a strong message.
“& it’s no longer getting ‘snubbed’ it’s getting ‘Traed’ at this point,” Young wrote along with a laughing emoji. “Sorry to my fans.. it’ll change eventually! All right, talk soon!”
& it’s no longer getting “snubbed” it’s getting “Traed” at this point
Sorry to my fans.. it’ll change eventually!
All right, talk soon!— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 31, 2025
The 26-year-old Young’s numbers look pretty darn good this year at 22.7 points and a league-leading 11.4 assists per game. But with the Hawks at just 22-25 on the year, Young did not have quite as strong of a case as the others who were selected. Lillard is averaging more points per game for a far better Bucks team, Cunningham has helped oversee a complete turnaround for the Pistons after a 14-win campaign last year, Garland is the point guard at the helm of the NBA-best Cavaliers, and Herro is having a career year leading a Heat team that is firmly in the playoff hunt despite the continued distraction of the Jimmy Butler situation.
Snubs inevitably happen every year, especially with how many talented guards there are in the East especially (Tyrese Maxey, LaMelo Ball, and Tyrese Haliburton were among the others who didn’t make the cut either). In fact, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are arguing that there was actually a much bigger All-Star snub in the Western Conference.
