James Harden, Zion Williamson, Jamal Murray, De'Aaron Fox, and Domantas Sabonis.
As we all know, each team in the East and West All-Star lineup has 12 players (5 starters + 7 reserves). The starters are usually the high-profile stars with the most popularity, while the reserves are mostly selected by coaches across the league.
The selection criteria for reserves are twofold: first, the team must have a good record, and second, the individual's statistics must be impressive. In my understanding, the reserve lineup for the All-Stars typically comes from the top eight teams in both the East and West.
The Eastern Conference All-Star reserve list is the fairest, featuring players like Brown, Brunson, Mitchell, Randle, Adebayo, Maxey, and Banchero, all from teams within the top eight in the East.
Now let's look at the Western Conference All-Star reserve lineup: Leonard, Edwards, Booker, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Towns, and Curry.
Anthony Davis, from the ninth-ranked Lakers in the West, and Curry, from the twelfth-ranked Warriors, both have high popularity and are hot topics, so their inclusion is widely expected.
However, their teams' records this year do not command respect, highlighting the essence of the NBA: maximizing commercial interests.
To accommodate these two insiders, the league has selectively overlooked the fifth-ranked Kings and seventh-ranked Pelicans in the West, with no star players from either team making the cut!
De'Aaron Fox, averaging 27.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists this season, delivered his career-best performance but was surprisingly left out.
Sabonis, averaging 19.9 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists this season, a versatile warrior, was also overlooked.
Zion Williamson, averaging 22 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists this season, is the Pelicans' star player, capable of running and jumping, with an entertaining playing style. Is the league no longer promoting him?
James Harden, averaging 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 8.5 assists this season, may not have eye-catching stats, but he changed the Clippers' fate. Yet, he has been forgotten by the NBA, missing the All-Star Game for the second consecutive year!
Jamal Murray, averaging 21.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists this season, an eight-year veteran, regardless of how well the Nuggets perform, he always remains in Jokic's shadow, severely underrated!
What do you think? Do these five players deserve to be selected for this year's All-Star Game?