Ranking the Most Overrated 2017 NBA All-Star Game Candidates
Assembling an indefensible NBA All-Star roster is ridiculously hard.
Even when people call out snubs, they struggle to name who those snubs should replace. And the field of worthy players is so vast that All-Star voters would have to completely sabotage their ballots in order to fill rosters with utterly undeserving players (shoutout to Zaza Pachulia stans).
That doesn't mean every All-Star candidate is beyond dispute. Some of the league's biggest names find themselves unjustly propped above other options or mistakenly included in the conversation at all. Fan voting is part of this determining factor—certain players remained hopelessly out of place on the ballot ladder in the latest returns. But many of these blips, like Pachulia, are harmless.
The trick is recognizing players who may actually be named starters or earn roster spots at the expense of more deserving possibilities. Their All-Star credentials are overrated—because, while they may be stars, the love they're receiving doesn't align with this season's performance.
Notable Exclusions
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Jeremy Lin, Brooklyn Nets
Jeremy Lin has received more dap during the fan vote than Kemba Walker—despite missing more than half the season and, well, not being as good as Kemba Walker.
Back in the old days, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and fans picked All-Star starters on their own, a healthy Lin would be a threat to cop one of the Eastern Conference's primary gigs. Now, his popularity is merely noise.
Zaza Pachulia, Golden State Warriors
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and LeBron James are the only frontcourt candidates who have received more fan votes than Zaza Pachulia.
There are so many things wrong with that sentence, it's almost not even funny. Almost.
Regular-people ballots count for just 50 percent of the All-Star equation, so it's definitely hysterical. Players and media members won't cast enough troll-job votes for this (highly impressive) push from Pachulia's country-peeps in Georgia to matter.
Pachulia does own the Golden State Warriors' best net rating, though. Totally logical All-Star-voting procedure cannot take that away from him.
Derrick Rose, New York Knicks
Derrick Rose getting more fan love than John Wall and Walker is comical—almost as much as him seeking max money in his next contract, according to ESPN.com's Ian Begley.
Sneaking into the top 10 among the East's backcourt hopefuls is a nod to Rose's brand and relocation from Chicago to New York more than anything else. Some players and media members will be hoodwinked into thinking Rose's 17.5 points per game on 45.1 percent shooting make him a star. But the vast majority of non-fans won't fall into the trap.
5. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Fact: Kyrie Irving is absurdly good. Stephen Curry is the only other player in league history who has matched his scoring per game (23.8 points), assist percentage (29.5) and three-point clip (41.0 percent).
Fact: Discrediting his development by comparing him to other star point guards who don't play with LeBron James and aren't expected to operate off the ball is unfair.
Fact: Irving can get voted into the All-Star Game without any real issue.
Fact: His case, at the moment, is overrated.
Most of this has nothing to do with Irving. He didn't rig the fan vote to give himself more recognition than any other Eastern Conference guard. But his probable selection will likely end up costing a spot for one of Kyle Lowry, Isaiah Thomas, Wall or Walker.
Irving has missed more games (five) and totaled fewer minutes (1,189) than any of his direct rivals. All of them shoulder more responsibility as playmakers and, with the exception of perhaps Thomas, defensive options.
Though we're predominantly splitting hairs at this level, All-Star Games are about rewarding individual performances—both the reach and extent of those efforts matter. So while rest days and more catch-and-shoot duty do not take away from Irving's stardom, they detract from his All-Star appeal given the exhaustive depth of those around him.
4. LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
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LaMarcus Aldridge is turning in another quality season for the San Antonio Spurs, but can we say beyond a reasonable doubt he's been the Western Conference's seventh-best frontcourt talent or better?
Remove the Zaza Pachulia anomaly from consideration, and fans seem to think so.
And they're of course wrong.
Zero in on just bigs who have played at least 1,000 minutes, and nothing changes:
Aldridge doesn't lead the Spurs in any major stat categories; There's a case to be made that he hasn't even been their second-most important player. Pau Gasol, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard have all added more points to San Antonio's cause, per NBA Math. Isolate the offensive side of the court—Aldridge's specialty—and he still checks in at fourth, trailing Patty Mills, Leonard and Green.
Durant and Leonard are locks to start the All-Star Game, and Aldridge's inclusion as a reserve wouldn't bounce DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis or Draymond Green from the rotation when two of them don't win an opening spot.
But Aldridge plays for a wildly good Spurs squad, and powerhouses tend to get multiple representatives if it can be justified. It's possible he lands a ticket to New Orleans over Marc Gasol, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, among others—and it's against them his case begins to fall apart.
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3. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
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It's a little uncomfortable seeing a rookie who's not actually a rookie log under 700 total minutes by the halfway point, miss 11 games and rank fourth in Eastern Conference frontcourt voting.
Then you realize the Philadelphia 76ers post a positive net rating with him on the court. And that Tim Duncan was the last newbie to match his points (19.6), rebounds (7.6) and blocks (2.3) per-game benchmarks.
And then you're torn.
Ultimately, though, volume has to matter. As ESPN.com's Zach Lowe argued during a Jan. 13 episode of the Lowe Post podcast:
"You just have to play a certain amount. I don't want to hear how defense doesn't matter and 'Who cares about defense, this is a dunk show?' and 'Let's put the most fun guys in.'
If this is a serious thing, if we're going to get to the end of a dude's career and say, 'I don't know if he's a Hall of Famer—he's just a four-time All-Star,' or 'He's a lock to get to the Hall of Fame—he's an eight-time All-Star,' I think we should take it seriously. And taking it seriously, to me, is who in these 40-plus games has been the best all-around player—the 12 best all-around players.
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None of this takes away from Embiid's performance. He has been great—a legitimate savior to Philly. If he stays healthy, he's on track for indefinite superstardom and more than a dozen All-Star cameos.
In the meantime, Embiid's current case is overrated. And until All-Star selections are no longer used for contract incentives or anecdotal evidence in legacy discussions, this shouldn't change for anyone in his situation.
2. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
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Perception is everything for Carmelo Anthony. He is clearly on the back end of his prime and has spent his entire career being compared to those—namely James—who are decidedly more talented than him.
And yet, so many are reluctant to yank him from the discussions to which he doesn't belong. As ESPN.com's Zach Lowe deftly explained while riffing on Anthony's trade value:
"Perception is a weird thing, because what I was going to say was the packages being thrown around as possible Toronto-Paul Millsap packages are not going to get you Carmelo Anthony. And as I say this, my personal opinion, the guy who's saying it: Paul Millsap is better than Carmelo Anthony.
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Contract situations come into play when breaking down trade scenarios: Anthony has another season left on his deal before free agency becomes a possibility in 2018 (player option), while Millsap is expected to command max money this summer after declining his own player option. You can even argue Anthony is easier to squeeze into a new offense if he embraces spot-up assignments.
But right now, in All-Star terms, Anthony isn't better than Millsap, let alone Paul George. When Kristaps Porzingis is healthy, Anthony isn't even the best player on his own team; he's fourth on the New York Knicks in total points added, according to NBA Math.
This is Anthony's fourth consecutive season clearing 20 points per game with an assist rate north of 15 and true shooting percentage better than 53. Eight other players can say the same: Blake Griffin, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Cousins, Curry, Durant and James.
Yes, this is impressive; what Anthony does, he does well. But he is an inconsistent passer and unreliable defender. And at 32, this is no longer good enough to elevate an entire team—not in comparison to the megastuds he's competing against.
1. Dwyane Wade, Chicago Bulls
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Dwyane Wade's All-Star days are behind him. He admitted as much when referencing last season's appearance, per ESPN.com's Nick Friedell:
"I'm not worried about myself. Whatever happens, happens. I've been blessed. All the years I've been voted by the fans, besides last year, you couldn't argue it. The other two years, I've been voted in by the coaches, which I took a lot of pride in. You get to this point of your career, you accept it, you take it.
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Wade is averaging career lows in true shooting percentage and assist percentage, plus his second-lowest player efficiency rating. You expect a dip in field-goal efficiency when he's shooting more threes, but his two-point percentage has never been lower, and he's posting a personal-worst conversion rate around the rim.
Playing within the Chicago Bulls' clunky offense doesn't do Wade any favors, and his usage rate has dropped as he settles into No. 2 territory behind Jimmy Butler. And that's the point: Wade isn't the same player anymore. Chicago is a better team per 100 possessions with him out of the lineup, just like Miami was last season. His reputation transcends his on-court value, even though he's hooping quite well for a soon-to-be 35-year-old.
Earning one of the top two slots in the Eastern Conference's backcourt popularity contest won't guarantee him a 13th All-Star selection (12th appearance) if the writers disagree. But he's not on Pachulia's or Rose's level either: There's a real chance he makes it to New Orleans.
And if that happens, it'll be at the expense of someone—at least one of Wall, Walker, Lowry or Thomas—whose All-Star play fell victim to a ubquitious brand.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com and accurate leading into games on Sunday, Jan. 15.
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