The NBA all star starters were recently announced with all star reserves coming out on February 23rd. Let me first start by saying there is no need for an all star game. In the current social climate that we’re in we do not need an all star game. This type of event brings crowd gatherings which leads the risk of spreading COVID. In addition, the players were told that they would not have to participate in an all star game but now are required to play. The players need rest and having this all star game does not provide the necessary rest for the star players. This is a perfect example of how the NBA cares about their economic profits instead of the players. However, I am not writing to inform you of why we shouldn’t have an all star game, I’m writing to discuss the team selections. To be completely transparent, I am slightly disappointed in the Eastern conference selections.
I think it’s a double edged sword when it comes to giving the fans autonomy to vote for the all stars. Being able to vote for your favorite player and seeing them during the all star game is a super fun experience, but I don’t think fans should be voting for the starters. When it comes to voting, I think fans are more concerned with seeing household names and superstars play instead of seeing players who earned their spot on the all star roster. I think this has to do a lot with recency bias and media coverage of certain players. When certain players are being talked about on a consistent basis and their teams get prime time television slots, then fans are more inclined to pay attention to that player. Therefore, fans are choosing players out of popularity rather than actual season performance.
With that being said, how is that Zach LaVine is not a starter in this upcoming all star game?
The very clear and obvious answer is that he didn’t get enough votes, but takeaway the votes for just a moment and really break this down. Statistically, Zach LaVine is currently #2 in scoring for shooting guards right behind Beal, and is #6 in scoring for the entire league. Furthermore, He’s averaging more points than Kwahi, Jokic, and Lebron, which are all starters for the Western Conference.
What makes it even more interesting is that his team has a better record than Bradley Beal’s team. Granted, Bradley Beal is leading the league in points right now but having a better record than someone and coming in right behind them in scoring is sufficient enough for them to be an all star.
I would like to further my plea for Zach LaVine by saying that Kevin Durant did not play all the games during the season. I think there should be a standard of how many games a player plays in order to qualify for being an all star. I completely understand that injuries and other outside forces can hinder a great player from playing, however it is not fair to players that have legitimately worked their way into being all stars. Instead, you are giving the spot up to a guy who is popular around the league and that does not sit right with me.
A recommendation that could solve this issue is having the coaches come up with a pool of individuals for each position and giving the fans 4–5 options to choose from. As for the players who are not selected as starters, they should be on the roster as a reserve. Although this would not stop recency bias and popularity, it would give players proper recognition and an opportunity to be voted for the starter spot.
Even though the all star starters are based off of popularity, I definitely see the coaches doing certain players justice in choosing them as reserves. Here’s a list of players I anticipate being selected for both the eastern and western conference.
East:
- Zach LaVine
- Jayson Tatum
- Nikola Vucevic
- Jaylen Brown
- Trae Young
- Julius Randle
- James Harden
West:
- Damian Lillard
- Zion Williamson
- Brandon Ingram
- Donovan Mitchell
- Devin Booker
- Jonas Valanciunas
- Rudy Gobert
