Lakers' LeBron James Says Trae Young Was NBA ASG Snub: 'He Be Cooking Every Night'

After getting an in-person look at Trae Young lighting up the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this week, LeBron James is questioning why the Atlanta Hawks guard isn't on the All-Star team.

Responding to Cuffs the Legend on X, formerly known as Twitter, James wrote Young is "cooking EVERY NIGHT!" and thinks something fishy is going on that kept him off the All-Star squad.

When the All-Star reserves were announced on Thursday, Young was regarded as one of the biggest omissions. Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey and Donovan Mitchell are the three reserves, with Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard voted in as starters.

The case for Young is entirely built around his offensive stats. He ranks second in the NBA in assists (11.0) and tied for ninth in points (27.1) per game. His efficiency has improved after a slow start with a 38.8 three-point percentage on 9.4 attempts per game since Nov. 25.

There have only been four players in NBA history to average at least 27 points and 10 assists in a season. All of them were named to the All-Star team and All-NBA first team. Russell Westbrook (2016-17) and Oscar Robertson (1963-64) won the MVP award.

As good as Young's offense has been, there are a couple of big factors working against him. The Hawks have been bad this season with a 21-27 record. He's the face of the franchise, but isn't doing anything to make them a contender in the Eastern Conference despite his numbers.

The main reason the Hawks have been a disappointment is because they have the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA.

As Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports noted, Young is "one of the worst defenders in the league, if not the worst," and the coaches who vote for All-Star reserves "don't like that."

From that standpoint, James is right about something fishy going because coaches are punishing Young for being a huge negative on defense.

It can certainly be argued that caring about defense in the All-Star Game is silly. Haliburton isn't exactly a defensive wizard for an Indiana Pacers team that has the fourth-worst rating on that end of the court.

But Haliburton has also been the driving force behind Indiana's ascent to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference standings and their appearance in the in-season tournament finals. He's also been a more efficient scorer (49.4 field-goal percentage) than Young and has seven games with at least 12 assists and no turnovers.

Domantas Sabonis is averaging 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists for a Sacramento Kings team that's fifth in the west, but he didn't make the team either.

There are only 12 roster spots each All-Star team, and it can be argued there has never been more great players in the NBA than there are right now. It's an impossible task to build an All-Star team that will make everyone happy.