The NBA All-Star rosters are set following the unveiling of the reserves last week. Though a number of fan bases are happy to see their favorite stars get in, there were a number of surprise snubs that basketball fans continue to talk about.
There will always be more players deserving of All-Star status than there will be spots available on the team, but even still there were three players in particular that even the casual fan was surprised not to see on an All-Star roster – including one player that was eventually named an injury replacement.
DeMarcus Cousins Snubbed…But Still Makes The Cut
Undoubtedly, the most surprising initial omission was Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who is having arguably the best season of any big man in the league not named Anthony Davis.
Cousins has averaged 23.6 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game this season and he ranks sixth in PER with only Davis, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and LeBron James listed ahead of him in that category. The fact that he is fourth in the NBA in real plus minus and originally didn’t get a nod is borderline absurd – especially when you consider that he would have been the first player in NBA history to average more than 23 points and over 12 rebounds and not get in.
The Western Conference roster is loaded but, statistically, only Davis is more deserving of a spot than Cousins. Realistically, he probably should have taken Tim Duncan’s spot. But at any rate, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Cousins as Kobe Bryant’s injury replacement, so he will be an All-Star after all. The fact that he was left off the roster in the first place was a shock.
Damian Lillard
With Cousins being added to the All-Star roster, that leaves the title of biggest omission in the West to Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. Lillard has averaged 21.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season and the 24-year-old star leads the NBA in fourth quarter scoring.
It wasn’t that long ago that some were talking about Lillard as a possible NBA MVP candidate behind Harden and Curry in the West, so the fact that he isn’t even an All-Star is a major surprise. Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Klay Thompson all got in and left Lillard as the odd guard out in the West.
To be fair, it’s a very loaded position, so somebody was going to get left out. Part of what likely hurt him is that he – and the Blazers – have cooled off recently. Lillard shot just 37 percent from the field in January and entering Tuesday’s action, the Blazers had dropped eight of 10.
Brandon Knight / Kyle Korver
The two biggest All-Star snubs from the Eastern Conference are Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight and Atlanta Hawks forward Kyle Korver. Korver is the NBA’s most dangerous three-point shooter and ranks among the top four guys in WARP that didn’t get in, but it makes it slightly more understandable that he was left off with Al Horford, Jeff Teague, and Paul Millsap representing the Hawks this year. Korver is a three-point specialist and while analytics junkies understand his value, the average fan would go bananas if he made the cut and someone like Carmelo Anthony didn’t.
Meanwhile, Knight has averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 steals for a Bucks team that has overachieved so far this season. He has maintained those averages with Jabari Parker out for almost two months. Realistically, there is no way that someone like Dwyane Wade should be in the lineup ahead of him but that’s how it is right now.
Lillard was the biggest snub but Korver and Knight also deserved recognition and didn’t get in. Some other names that have been bandied about include Mike Conley, Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, and Draymond Green but Lillard, Korver and Knight are the headliners here that truly should be representing their respective conferences.
