Trae Young, the Atlanta Hawks’ star guard, has been having arguably the best season of his career in 2025, yet he was surprisingly left out of the NBA All-Star Game. Despite leading the Hawks in points and assists, with an impressive 22.7 points, a career-high 11.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 three-pointers per game, Young did not make the cut for the Eastern Conference All-Star reserves.
Injury-Plagued Hawks and the Impact on Young’s All-Star Candidacy
The main factor working against Trae Young’s All-Star candidacy was the Hawks’ injury struggles and their 22-25 record at the time of selection. Despite his remarkable individual performance, the team’s overall performance could not boost Young into one of the coveted seven reserve spots on the Eastern Conference roster.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game Format and Reserves
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will feature a new format with four teams competing in three games on Feb. 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco. NBA fans, media, and players selected the starters on January 23, while the reserves, chosen by conference coaches, were revealed recently.
A Star-Studded All-Star Snub List
This year’s All-Star snub list could have been vastly different had other players such as Joel Embiid, Chet Holmgren, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Luka Dončić, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George been healthy for the majority of the season.
