Trae Young Trails in Early All-Star Vote Count

There is no denying that Trae Young had a slow start to the 2022-23 NBA season. However, the Atlanta Hawks point guard snapped out of his shooting slump in early December and continues to look more like his old self.

Unfortunately for Young, first impressions matter. The league released the first returns for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game voting earlier today. It will not come as a shock to any Hawks fans that Young is getting disrespected.

The first EAST returns for #NBAAllStar 2023! Do you agree? 🤔

Vote today with #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T on the NBA App and https://t.co/R6fBO5LSAS.

🗳: https://t.co/30IBtt585I pic.twitter.com/gM1lE2ZQLn
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) January 5, 2023

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving leads the Eastern Conference backcourt category with just over 2 million votes. Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Donovan Mitchell narrowly leads over Philadelphia 76ers point guard James Harden with roughly 1.6 million votes each.

Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown ranks fourth with just over one million votes. Young finally comes in at fifth with over 791,000 votes. From there, a mix of older stars and budding young talent battle for the remaining vote share.

Young must make up a lot of ground in a hurry if he is going to make (and start) in the third NBA All-Star Game of his career. It appears there is no catching Irving or Mitchell, but Harden and Brown are not out of reach.

NBA All-Star voting ends on January 21, and the rosters will be announced in late January and early February. This will be the sixth consecutive season in which the All-Star Game uses a "draft" format, in which each conference's top vote-getter will serve as captain and draft a roster from the remaining 22 players. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for February 19 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

Young has averaged 27.3 and 9.9 assists per game through 34 games this season. No guard in either conference comes close to averaging that level of production. Atlanta plays the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, giving Young another opportunity to make his case for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.