The NBA revealed the results from the first batch of fan voting for this year’s All-Star festivities, and Trae Young of the Hawks came in third among guards.
Young racked up 873,979 votes in the first round behind Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Bucks guard Damian Lillard.
He’s put up some career-best numbers, averaging 30.4 points and 12.2 assists per game in the month of December, while making 47.5% of his overall shots and knocking down 42.2% of his shots from long range. He had seven consecutive games of 30-plus points and 10-plus assists, tying Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson.
Young, who has two All-Star nods under his belt, missed out on last season’s All-Star game. He finished fifth among guards in the first round of fan voting last season and was not among the reserves picked.
But through 31 games, he has averaged 28.3 points and a career-best 11.3 assists, while shooting 38% on 3-point shots.
Haliburton has 24.9 points and 12.7 assists and leads the league in total assists as well as assists per game, all while shooting 50% from the field and 40.8% from 3. He’s also propelled himself into the MVP conversation after helping the Pacers to a 19-14 record.
Lillard has given the Bucks plenty in his first season in Milwaukee, averaging 25.4 points and 6.7 assists, while knocking down 36.2% of his shots from deep. He’s delivered in clutch time, too, ranking second in the league in clutch points per game with 4.8.
The 2024 NBA All-Star game takes place Feb. 18 at the Pacers’ home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with All-Star Weekend happening over three total nights from Feb. 16-18.
It returns to the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference matchup with the traditional scoring system with four 12-minute quarters.
The teams will continue to compete to win each quarter for a charitable organization of their choosing.
NBA All-Star team captains still will be named to lead their respective teams and will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference during voting.
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
Friday will mark the next “3-for-1 Day,” when each fan vote will count three times and will take place every Friday until Jan. 19.
The next fan voting update will be shared Jan. 11. Voting concludes Jan. 20.
