Mavs C Zaza Pachulia Was 14K Votes Away from Being All-Star Starter

Crisis averted.

On Thursday night, the NBA announced its starting lineups for the 2016 All-Star Game set to be held in Toronto on Feb. 14. Zaza Pachulia almost crashed the party.

That’s right—the Dallas Mavericks center, who is averaging 10.5 points and 10.8 rebounds, came within 14,227 votes of knocking out San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard for a starting spot on the West squad.

Pachulia also leapfrogged Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, who has been one of the league’s brightest stars this season.

Zaza is having a solid year in Dallas, but there would have been a massive uproar if he started over both Leonard and Green.

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