John Wall Comments on Kyrie Irving, 2016 NBA All-Star Game Vote Totals
Washington Wizards star John Wall is putting together the best season of his career.
He's averaging a career-high 19.5 points per game to go along with 9.7 assists per game. His play is worthy of much consideration for the All-Star Game on Feb. 14 in Toronto, but that consideration hasn't yet come.
When the NBA announced the first return of ballots Friday, Wall was fifth among Eastern Conference guards, trailing the likes of Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and Dwyane Wade. But perhaps most shocking of all was the fact Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, who made his season debut on Dec. 20, is second among East guards in the voting. The 23-year-old is 35,097 votes ahead of Wall.
The two-time All-Star point guard for the Wizards is not fond of that, as he told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic on Saturday (Warning: Link contains NSFW language):
"It's a joke. I played like horses--t the first month and a half but I still was averaging like 16 and eight. That's not bad numbers. I guess it's the record. No offense Kyrie, he's played (three) games. If he was healthy he probably would be in that position because he'd be playing well. I can see him there because that's how talented he is.
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Although the Cavs are the best team in the Eastern Conference, if Wall wants to put the blame anywhere, the voting system would be the right place.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant is leading all vote-getters by over 200,000 votes, ahead of the reigning NBA MVP, Stephen Curry. But with Bryant retiring, he's going to get the legend treatment by default, despite the Lakers holding the worst record in the Western Conference. So, fan voting is not the best system to indicate who is more deserving.
Wall is one of the top point guards in the league, and he will surely get some consideration for a spot on the roster. For now, he has a right to be a bit miffed at where the public sees him in terms of popularity for the All-Star Game.
