Ovie Soko says Trae Young and Jayson Tatum should receive All-Star recognition
Sky Sports NBA analyst also pays tribute to Vince Carter, the first NBA star to play in four different decades
Tuesday 7 January 2020 13:41, UK
Ovie Soko says Trae Young, Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell should receive their first All-Star selections this season.
'Young gets a serious All-Star look, Tatum's number'
When it comes to potential first-time All-Stars this season, two names that stand out for me in the East are Trae Young and Jayson Tatum.
For me, Young gets a serious All-Star look, regardless of his team's horrible record. With his levels of production and efficiency, his numbers are not empty stats or just a case of a player on a bad team hoisting up a bunch of shots. His efficiency is his saving grace and it shows you that he maybe does not have enough supporting pieces around to complement him.
Young is putting up 28.9 points per game but he is also handing out 8.4 assists too. That lets you know he is a team guy. Who knows? If the Hawks can put one or two players of a similar calibre around him, he is a guy who could push his assist numbers into double digits. That's not crazy, especially with his ability to create from so far away from the basket. That opens up the floor unbelievably. The lane violation rules and the way you have to guard in the NBA are other factors that make the floor even bigger for him.
For me, I usually like to go for 'winning' guys, but you have to give Young the All-Star nod in the East. He is doing special things. You are seeing him make crazy plays every night, he's draining 35-footers! And he does it consistently, night in and night out. For a second-year guy to put up those numbers and run a team is insane. You cannot ask him to do any more.
Tatum is averaging 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game. Those are very good numbers but, more impressively, they have helped the Celtics get up to second in the East. There is no doubt they are a contending team. To put up that sort of production on a team that could potentially be in the Finals this year, I feel Tatum's good numbers carry even more weight.
Last year was a bit rocky season for Tatum playing alongside Kyrie Irving. It has been nice to see him back on track and growing from what we saw from him in his rookie year two seasons ago when he stepped up after Gordon Hayward went down with that bad injury.
With that being said, I don't know if I am totally 100 per cent convinced about Tatum as an All-Star just yet. One guy I am absolutely certain about is Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
'Mitchell just gets it done and wins'
Among the potential first-time All-Stars in the Western Conference, the one guy that stands out for me is Utah's Donovan Mitchell. He is a sneaky one but he definitely deserves an All-Star shout.
It's savage out there in the West but Utah are comfortably in the playoff positions in fifth spot. That carries a lot of weight. Any team in the West playoff hunt, hats off! On top of that, the Jazz are really rolling with nine wins from their last 10 games.
Mitchell is consistent and he is averaging 25.0 points a game along with 4.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds. He is just a guy who gets it done and wins. He will put his team in a position to win every night. To have that output in the West, I think the coaches will definitely see his value (when they select the All-Star reserves).
The fans do not talk about the Jazz much but, for me, they are one of those teams good enough to quietly roll to the Western Conference Finals. I honestly do not see why not.
Everyone is huge on the Clippers, Rockets and Lakers but you have got to respect the Jazz. With their playing style, the way they work as a team, I think they are well put together and I would pick them to get further than, for example, Houston. Utah's brand of basketball translates more into winning games deep in the postseason.
'Carter's body of work speaks for itself'
Vince Carter is one of the players I watched as I was coming up. There was Vince, Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson plus Shaq towards the end of his time with the Lakers.
Vince is a special player. Anyone who has been at the top level of sport, or any profession, for a long, long time will appreciate the level of professionalism needed to stay at that level. That is what has kept him around playing in what is now four decades of NBA basketball.
To be able to say you have played at the pinnacle of a sport for decades is crazy, insane, mad! I would love to see him get an honourary spot at the All-Star Game, if the NBA were willing to do it. That would be cool as I don't know if we'll see him play another season.
Carter was definitely special when I was growing up. His performance in the 2000 Dunk Contest stands out the most, without a shadow of a doubt - the double point to the sky, the reverse windmill, the honey drop! He changed the Dunk Contest that night! Even if you'd seen those dunks before, you had never seen them done the way he did them. And he could also do those dunks in a game.
He was fearless and absolutely ferocious in his young days. I cannot name too many guys in the NBA now who have Carter's demeanour or aggressiveness. And he was a helluva player too. His dunking was so nuts that it almost obscured what a great all-round player he was.
That all-round ability is the reason he has been able to play for such a long time and his game has evolved and improved. To do that, over that length of time, you have to be a pro's pro.
At his peak he was one of the NBA's household names. He has been a role player. Now in Atlanta he is a mentor. I think he came to peace with his role changing in the league relatively early. It hasn't been an issue for him.
And his body of work speaks for itself. He has nothing left to prove and I know, around the league, he is highly respected. Every player knows exactly who he is and his word holds a lot of weight. I can't see anyone on that Atlanta team having a word to say back to him.
The game is lucky to have had a guy like Vince.
Read more from Ovie Soko throughout the season as part of Sky's best-ever NBA offering, which includes 134 live games and a record 48 games in weekend primetime slots.
