When Trae Young was initially left off the list of Eastern Conference All-Star reserves, but there remained a chance that he might be chosen as an injury replacement, he said that he would be open to being added as a replacement.
"I know I wouldn't be representing just myself," he said.
For the duration of the NBA's All-Star Weekend, Trae represented himself, the city of Atlanta, and its fans quite well.
On Sunday, Trae played a key part in the East's 211-186 win in the All-Star Game with 5 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. He led the East in assists despite playing the fewest minutes of any of the 12 players.
He also provided one of the game's signature moments when he nutmegged a dribble through Kevin Durant's legs, scooped it up on the other side, and tossed up a floater.
"It was fun," Trae said after his third All-Star appearance. "We wanted to get up a lot of threes and dunks, and that was our plan. We wanted to put on a good show and win the game, for sure."
Trae also participated in two events Saturday, finishing in a tie for second place in the 2024 Starry 3-Point Contest. He also finished second in the Kia Skills Challenge as a member of Team All-Stars, alongside Scotty Barnes of Toronto and Tyrese Maxey of Philadelphia.
The 3-Point Contest consists of five racks of basketballs, four of which contain four official NBA game balls worth one point, plus one multi-colored money-ball, which counts for two points. There is also one all-money-ball rack with five multi-colored money balls worth two points each.
Trae set a high bar as the first of eight shooters in the event. He scored 26 points in the first round and finished in a four-way tie for first with Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Trae knocked down every shot on his all-money-ball racks in the opening round and the 30-second tiebreaker that eliminated Haliburton from advancing to the finals. His only miss on a money-ball rack came on his final shot of the competition, leaving him with a final-round score of 24.
When Milwaukee's Damian Lillard got to his final two racks in the final round, he hit four shots in a row on his second-to-last rack to boost his score to 24, then he went to the final rack needing just a single make to break a three-way tie with Trae and Towns. He missed the first four of five shots, then made the final one to seal the win.