The NBA season is over halfway over, and the All-Star weekend is almost upon us once again. Out of all of the major sports the NBA probably has the best All-Star weekend, if not the best a very close second to the NHL All-Star Weekend. Although the All-Star weekend is a great spectacle for fans and players alike there are bound to be some disappointments, some of these disappointments come within the makeup of the roster, and this year is not any different.
During the selections process the players are selected by their conference and through a combination of fans vote (50 percent), current players (25 percent), and basketball media (25 percent). Since the NBA changed the way the All-Star game works—draft format—they also changed who gets a say in the All-Stars; before 2017 the rosters were selected by fans only.
However, that selection process really only matters for the top vote getters in the backcourt (2 players) and the frontcourt (3 players), the other 14 players are selected by all 30 coaches around the league.
Since the NBA has the smallest roster out of any league it is bound to happen that some “All-Star caliber” players are left of the roster each season.
Let’s start out in the western conference, if this were an east vs. west game then they would have the large advantage on paper with James Harden, Luka Doncic, Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis selected as the starters from the fan vote. Their bench is nothing to look past either with it consisting of Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Brandon Ingram, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook.
When looking at potential snubs then we have to look at the potential players they would replace because of the number of people allowed to be selected.
Paul George
LAC PPG APG RPG SPG
22.7 3.8 6.1 1.4
The Clippers this season have played a total of 50 games and Paul George has been a part of 29 of them. It wasn’t George’s fault that he was injured to start the season and even after he came back, they are being careful with him, he is one of their most important players. When George has been on the court, he has been great and definitely deserving of a spot, but we have to look at potential replacements.
George is a frontcourt player so there are five players he could potentially replace, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, Brandon Ingram, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook. Gobert is almost averaging 15 PPG and 15 RPG and is consistently one of the most feared defenders in the game so he belongs there all the way. Jokic is also averaging a double-double at 20.4 PPG and 10.1 RPG and has played in every game this season, he belongs there. Finally, you have Ingram in the frontcourt, Ingram has finally started to live up to his potential this season, averaging 25.1 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 6.5 RPG at a .473 FG% clip, it is hard to argue that George deserves it over any of the front court players.
This means that he would have had to outduel the final two choices from the coaches, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook. Westbrook is getting a lot of hate because many think he is not deserving, but Westbrook is having one of his most efficient seasons, sure he might not be averaging a triple-double but at 26.4 PPG, 8 RPG, and 7.4 APG at a .454 FG% it’s hard to argue against him. Paul on the other hand is having a good season at 17.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 6.6 APG at a .477 FG %, but these numbers don’t jump out at anyone. I think George deserves it over Paul.
The only real argument against George is the games played, he was never going to be a starter so it all came down to the coaches who decided that was a big enough reason to not put him on the team even if he should be.
Karl-Anthony Towns
MIN PPG RPG APG BPG
26.9 10.8 4.3 1.2
Towns falls into the same boat when it comes to games played, the Timberwolves have played 49 games this season and Towns has only played in 32. However, that is the only real similarity between George and Towns, Towns when healthy has looked like an MVP candidate this season but being sidelined for a month did not help his cause.
Towns also hurts because of the position he plays, if he was a forward, he would have had a better chance but due to being a center it would have been very tough to choose him. With three top grade centers already on the roster it would have been tough to go with him. Both Jokic and Gobert deserve to be on the roster, Towns could have made the roster over Ingram, Westbrook, and Paul but because of position it did not happen.
Towns argument against him is the same as George, not enough games played and when you look at it, it is a shame because Towns may be having the best season of any player not selected for the All-Star game.
Devin Booker
PHX PPG APG RPG
26.8 6.3 4.1
How Devin Booker is not an All-Star this season is beyond me, he is having the best season of his young career thus far averaging almost 27 PPG on .506 FG %. Booker started off the season well and lately has played out of his mind. Defensively Booker is still weak but if that is the argument for why Booker does not deserve to be an All-Star then that is a weak argument.
Knowing Paul’s stats, it is pretty clear that Booker deserves a spot over him and there can be an argument that he deserved it over Westbrook as well, but did he deserve to make it over the other 2 backcourt reserve players in Damien Lillard and Donovan Mitchell. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 24.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 4.3 APG at a .459 FG%. These are good number but just based off individual stats he is not deserving over Booker, he is in because of his part in his team success which Booker has not seen.
Lillard on the other hand 100% deserves to be on the roster, averaging 29.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 7.9 APG on .461 FG %. Lillard’s team has been struggling so far this season but that was not enough of a reason to leave him off the roster, nor should it be for Booker. Although Booker has had a great season, he does not deserve a spot over Lillard.
Booker may go down as one of the biggest snubs in All-Star history, not because his statistics are so much better than everyone elsebut because he is doing it while being so efficient. Booker deserves to be on the roster over at least 3 other players and it is a travesty that he did not make his first All-Star game.
Now let’s move over to the eastern conference, the choices from the eastern conference were not as strong as those from the western conference but they still left more to be desired by leaving out some of the players having the best seasons. The Eastern conference starters are
Kemba Walker, Trae Young, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pascal Siakam, and Joel Embiid and the reserves are Ben Simmons, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Khris Middleton, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, and Domantas Sabonis.
Bradley Beal
WSH PPG APG RPG SPG
29.2 6.3 4.5 1
If Devin Booker deserves to make the All-Star squad in the western conference than Bradley Beal deserves to make the team in the eastern conference. Beal was easily the biggest snub in the eastern conference and there aren’t many reasons as to why Beal did not make it. Beal had to take over the role of the primary playmaker this season and he is having the best season of his career.
The biggest reasons for why Beal did not make it is his defense and the team’s performance, but that is not a fair reason for him not to make it. Let’s look at the backcourt reserves in the eastern conference and see if Beal should be on the team.
Ben Simmons is a very consistent player who is not a primary scorer but is a 6’10’’ playmaker at the point guard position. Simmons is averaging 16.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 8.2 APG on .584 FG %. Simmons, because he is an inside threat is such an efficient player that he earned his spot on the roster while leading the 76ers to a playoff spot right now.
Kyle Lowry on the other hand is having a decent season but not better than Beal, Lowry is averaging 19.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 7.3 APG on .410 FG %. The only thing that Lowry has done better than Beal is pass the ball and that has only led to 1 more assist per game. Lowry has been good all season and has led the Raptors into a good position for the playoffs, but he does not deserve a spot over Beal.
Those are my biggest NBA All-Star snubs for this season, this is not the only season where there have been snubs and this will not be the last. The NBA roster is so hard to fill because of the limited number of spots but Beal and Booker fully deserved to be in the teams this season.