NBA All-Star Game 2017: Latest Reaction to All Starters and Top Snubs

The 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans officially has starting lineups.

Without Russell Westbrook.

The above is the biggest talking point surrounding this year's selection process by a landslide. James Harden muscled his way into the lineup. Giannis Antetokounmpo will make his debut. The NBA avoided a Zaza Pachulia disaster.

But above all else, the man averaging a triple-double isn't a starter. It is a surreal development, depending on the lens through which one views the event. As the headline act to this year's game, the conversation continues to focus on snubs.

After a look at the official lineups, let's take a look at Westbrook and the biggest snubs.

2017 NBA All-Star Game Starters

Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Position	Player	Team
Guard	Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers
Guard	DeMar DeRozan	Toronto Raptors
Frontcourt	LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers
Frontcourt	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks
Frontcourt	Jimmy Butler	Chicago Bulls
Position	Player	Team
Guard	Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors
Guard	James Harden	Houston Rockets
Frontcourt	Kevin Durant	Golden State Warriors
Frontcourt	Kawhi Leonard	San Antonio Spurs
Frontcourt	Anthony Davis	New Orleans Pelicans

Top Snubs

Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors

This is an underrated snub but an important one nonetheless.

Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers took one guard spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to overwhelming fan support.

The other slot, though, should have probably gone to Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, not his teammate, DeMar DeRozan.

Look, DeRozan is a great player. He's a mid-range king doing things his way while averaging 28.2 points, 3.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game on 47.5 percent shooting from the floor. But take Lowry off the court and the dynamics of his game change in dramatic fashion.

Lowry is a facilitator and voters didn't seem to judge him as such. He doesn't just drop 22.2 points per game, he averages 7.1 assists and shoots 47.8 percent from the floor. The shot charts are almost silly, as one illustrated by Rotoworld's Michael Gallagher detailed:

"

Kyle Lowry’s shot chart since Thanksgiving. 72.7 TS%!! If you don’t think he’s the best G in the East, check yo self pic.twitter.com/ThzSFz46Rk

— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) January 17, 2017"

Honestly, there is an argument for Lowry over Irving. Voters didn't see it that way, but Lowry isn't a stranger to flying under the radar.

Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics

The Eastern Conference, much like its counterpart, was clogged up at guard with no adequate plumber available.

Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics easily deserved a spot as a starter while on arguably an MVP trek. He is a big part of the reason the Celtics sit third in the conference while he averages 28.7 points, 6.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. The scoring average is a career high, as is his shooting 46 percent from the floor.

As the NBA's official Twitter account captured, Thomas will keep gunning either way:

Good for Thomas, though it doesn't make the snub any easier to swallow. Unlike Irving and even Lowry, Thomas doesn't have an elite supporting cast to lean on when he puts up big numbers and helps the team win games.

Maybe this is the boost Thomas needs to seriously become a household name.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

The Western Conference is where the biggest dose of drama went down.

Westbrook has had no equal this year from a stats standpoint, hence his averaging 30.6 points, 10.4 assists and 10.6 rebounds per game. The numbers make it quite easy to overlook the fact the Thunder aren't winning a ton of games, as expected.

This isn't meant to take too much away from Stephen Curry or Harden. But Curry is chugging along with the Golden State Warriors. Harden is more deserving after exploding this season without Dwight Howard and in a new role, averaging 28.9 points, 11.6 assists and 8.3 rebounds.

But this all loops back to Westbrook. It's bad enough he is on an afterthought of a team for the time being—now he's getting snubbed when he should be featured.

The sporting world, at least, didn't go silently on the matter. Athletes and sports names from around the globe weighed in on the situation:

One underrated great element about this for Westbrook? A possible avoidance of Kevin Durant, the man who left the Oklahoma City Thunder last offseason to join the Warriors. With Durant starting and Westbrook coming off the bench, the two may never need to be on the court together.

It's a small silver lining, though. Westbrook is on a historic march decades in the making and the voting process failed him.

Call it another reason for Westbrook to keep shredding the Association as he pleases.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.