ATLANTA — Trae Young has been sensational all season, and his work has not gone unnoticed by NBA fans, who officially voted him in as an All-Star starter last night.
He led all Eastern Conference guards in the voting, a testament both to the quality of his play and his soaring popularity nationwide.
And his reaction to the news was almost as good as the news itself.
His teammate Brandon Goodwin posted the clip of the moment Young learned about the honor, the newly-minted All-Star overcome with emotion. He put his head down in his hands, appearing to wipe a couple tears away, while his mother gave him a big hug.
On his own Twitter account, Young wrote, "MAMMA IMMA ALL STAR" with the crying, prayer hands and heart emojis (as well as a snowflake, for his "ice" nickname.)
Young becomes the first All-Starter for the Hawks in more than two decades - the last being Dikembe Mutombo in 1998.
The point guard is scoring more than 29 points per game for the Hawks, shooting 37% from three and a hair under 45% overall.
In an interesting twist, the player Atlanta and Dallas swapped Young with on draft day 2018, Luka Doncic, also made the All-Star team. The two become just the second pair of 21-and-under All-Star starters in the same game. The last time there was a similar duo was when Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett both made the 1998 All-Star Game.
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