For the second time in his career, Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young was named to the NBA All-Star squad.
Joining Young as the Eastern Conference guards are DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls, along with Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to SportsTalkATL.
The Western Conference pool features the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić, and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant.
Young, 23, has been averaging 27.7 points and 9.3 assists per game on career-best efficiency — 45.3% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc, the report notes.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, fans make up 50% of the vote for All-Star Game players, while current players and the media make up the other half. Team reserves are selected by coaches.
This year’s All-Star Game is Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, where James will be the captain for the West, and Durant is set to lead the East.
NBA On TNT commentator Charles Barkley pointed out his own preference for the Bulls’ Zach Levine, who Young edged out for the second guard role on the East team. In response, Young tweeted: “Truly Blessed !! Thank you to the Fans ALWAYS LOVE !! 2X!! Chuck eat a Twinkie and be quiet sometimes.” Barkley’s colleagues ribbed the NBA legend for the tweet.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has vowed to provide more support to the Cavaliers, who are leading COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts in their city. Bibb will have a press conference today to encourage more citizens to get vaccinated.
The week’s schedule of events includes a celebrity All-Star match-up on Friday night and an NBA x HBCU classic game, which pits Morgan State against Howard University.
The ever-popular 3-point contest and slam dunk contests are also on Saturday night, with coverage starting at 8 p.m. on TNT.
Sunday, Feb. 20 is also the NBA Legends Brunch and the G-League game. On Sunday night, the 71st NBA All-Star Game kicks off, with coverage starting at 6 p.m.
The All-Star Game was first hosted at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951, to get fans excited about the NBA again. The plan certainly worked: It’s now one of the league’s most popular events.
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