2012 NBA All-Star Game: The All-Snub Team

With All-Star Weekend just around the corner, 12 men from each conference are about to live out a dream. They've been selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game and will forever live on in professional basketball history as some of the best of their time.

Unfortunately, there are a few players who got left behind.

While everyone has their opinion of who should be going, I decided to take a different route in recognizing these players. As of the moment you read this article, these players will forever be known as members of the 2012 NBA All-Snub Team.

Guard: Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks

Statistics: 18.4 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG

The Bucks' disappointing start to the season is by no means Brandon Jennings' fault.

In fact, it's Jennings who has the Bucks just two and a half games behind the Boston Celtics for the eighth seed in the East. Pretty impressive considering the second-best player on his team has been injured for the past month.

Jennings' shooting percentage is far from impressive, as he's shooting just 40.5 percent from the field. The thing is, that's the highest field-goal percentage of Jennings' career, and it's coming in a season where he's shooting a career-high 16.8 shots per game. You can say that he shouldn't shoot that often, but it's pretty hard not to when your most reliable teammate is Drew Gooden.

Jennings is young enough to see his name on an All-Star roster at some point in the future, but it's still a shame they didn't honor him for having such an incredible season.

Guard: Kyle Lowry, Houston Rockets

Statistics: 15.6 PPG, 7.6 APG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG

Kyle Lowry is the leader of a surprising Houston Rockets team that currently sits in sixth place out West.

He is in the Top 10 in assists, Top 5 in steals and leads all point guards in rebounding. He's also Top 10 among point guards in scoring.

Nevertheless, Lowry has earned himself an unwanted snub. Despite having an equally impressive season as some of the point guards who made the cut, Kyle Lowry was deemed unworthy. His season will not go without recognition, though, if he's able to continue this pace.

At the moment, the Rockets are on pace to square off against the Los Angeles Clippers come playoff time. What better way to make his mark than to go one-on-one with Chris Paul?

Forward: Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies

Statistics: 18.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.6 SPG

As great as Marc Gasol has been, the Memphis Grizzlies remain Rudy Gay's team.

Gay has stepped up in Zach Randolph's absence by scoring nearly 19 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the floor, including a career-best 39 percent from long distance. His contributions are why the Grizzlies are 19-15 and not 15-19.

While he hasn't gotten the attention of a Kevin Durant or Dirk Nowitzki, it's hard to argue against his production. In games where Gay has scored greater than 20 points, the Grizzlies are 13-5. When he hasn't, they're 6-10.

It's not hard to see how valuable Gay is to the Grizzlies; it's just hard to see how he could be overlooked.

Forward: Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks

Statistics: 15.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.1 BPG, 1.6 SPG

At this point in the season, I don't think there's a more qualified candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

Josh Smith is one of just eight players in the NBA with at least one block and one steal per game. He's the only player in the NBA averaging greater than 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals.

On the glass, Smith is averaging a career-best 9.5 rebounds per game. He's stepped up in Al Horford's absence and begun to score more efficiently as well, taking less three-pointers and more shots from inside the paint.

Despite leading the Hawks to a 20-14 start without Horford—and at times without Joe Johnson—Smith has been snubbed once again. Hopefully that's motivation, not a cause of frustration.

Center: DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings

Statistics: 16.4 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 1.2 SPG

DeMarcus Cousins is the snub that no one is talking about.

He joins Josh Smith as one of just eight players in the NBA to average greater than one block and one steal per game. The only other big men to accomplish that feat are Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol, both of whom were All-Star selections.

Cousins is in the Top 5 in rebounds, as well as Top 15 among big men in scoring. He has been as dominant a force in the paint as anyone else in the NBA, taking over games on both ends of the floor.

If not for his off-the-court issues and Keith Smart's ambiguity about which position to play him at, Cousins could have made it. Unfortunately, the record books don't record the "could haves."