ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young was initially one of the highest-profile names left out of the All-Star Game this year, but it turns out he'll be going after all.
A day after surpassing Mookie Blaylock for second all-time in assist for the Hawks, the NBA announced the Young will head to the All-Star Game in Indianapolis as an injury replacement.
Young and Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes will replace Joel Embiid and Julius Randle for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team.
It marks a third straight year Young will earn All-Star nods, as he has scored 27.3 points per game and nearly 11 assists per game (10.9) so far this season.
He most recently helped lead the Hawks to a four-game winning streak that included victories over Barnes' Raptors, the L.A. Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors before it was snapped last night in a wild loss to the L.A. Clippers.
Young had 25 points and 12 assists in that game - the dozen dimes bringing him to 3,775 for his career.
When could Trae Young become the all-time Hawks assist leader?
Right now he's behind Doc Rivers' career total of 3,866 by 91. As he averages about 11 a game, he's probably about 8 or 9 games away.
If he gets there early (let's say 7 games), it could be as soon as the Feb. 25 home game against Orlando. More likely, given his average, the Feb. 27 home game against Utah.
If he doesn't do it in either of those two games, he'd claim the record in New York City -- the Hawks' next three games after the Feb. 27 Utah game are at Brooklyn Feb. 29, at Brooklyn again on March 2 and at the New York Knicks on March 5.