NBA All-Star Game 2019: Least-Deserving Starters, Top Snubs After Lineups Reveal
The NBA revealed its captains and starters for the 2019 All-Star Game on Thursday night, making this the perfect time to second-guess the selections.
While no one lucks into an All-Star starting spot, there were a few questionable calls made. Conversely, there were a couple of potential starters probably wondering what they did wrong to be left out of the starting pool.
Let's zero in, then, on the least-deserving starters—a relative label, to be clear—and top snubs after the (first) big reveal of All-Star season.
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2019 NBA All-Star Starters
Western Conference
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder
James Harden, Houston Rockets
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (Captain)
Eastern Conference
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (Captain)
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics
Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Least-Deserving Starters
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Literally, everyone might argue this pick, since James—now a 15-time All-Star—was the leading vote-getter in the entire player pool. Oh yeah, and he's still the most dominant force on the planet every time he steps out on the hardwood.
But that's the (only) issue with this selection—thanks to a groin strain, he hasn't suited up since Christmas. Thursday's absence was his 15th in a row, meaning he's played in fewer than 70 percent of the Lakers' games.
Granted, when he has played, it's been business as usual. In fact, the 34-year-old is outpacing his career averages in points (27.3, up from 27.2), rebounds (8.3, 7.4) and field-goal shooting (51.8, 50.4), while posting the seventh-highest player efficiency rating (26.3). But don't those absences count for something?
"He has missed 30 percent of the season (and counting), and that's enough to slot him to the bench, as ridiculous as that sounds," ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote.
It feels wild to put James in this category, but let's be clear—this is all about his availability. Looking solely through that lens, his case isn't quite as strong as a couple of other Western Conference frontcourt candidates who just missed the cut.
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
We aren't calling conspiracy-theory shenanigans here, but Walker felt a likely selection with Charlotte set to host this year's All-Star festivities.
Assuming Victor Oladipo's season-ending injury knocked him out of consideration, there was likely a three-player race for this spot. Walker belonged in that race, but so did Ben Simmons and Bradley Beal.
Simmons paced that trio in rebounds (9.5), assists (8.3), field-goal shooting (57.8) and team success (32-17). Beal is among the hottest non-bearded ballers in the game, averaging 28 points on 44.4 percent shooting (36.6 from three), 5.8 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals since John Wall was shelved by season-ending heel surgery.
Walker's counting stats are All-Star-worthy (25 points, 5.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds), but the tremendous burden he shoulders in Buzz City seems like it's taking a toll. His season-long 43.6 field-goal percentage is the worst of this group, and it's trending the wrong way. Through 11 January outings, he's shooting just 41 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from three.
If you want to blame Walker's supporting cast for this skid, you may not be wrong. But that doesn't change Walker's stats, which look the least efficient of all 10 starters.
Top Snubs
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Was I the only one who had to double-check that I hadn't glossed over Davis' name when the starters were announced? If there's any wart on his resume, it's the eight games he's missed so far. But when James nearly doubles those absences, how can that be a reason to deny Davis a spot?
Of course, if it isn't, good luck figuring out what is.
Davis has this season's highest PER (31.0), plus top-five rankings in points (29.3, second), blocks (2.6, second) and rebounds (13.3, third). ESPN's all-encompassing real plus-minus rating puts Davis third overall.
Let's not forget he has a point guard's background with the size of a center, meaning he's a highlight waiting to happen and perfectly built for this environment. In 2017, The Brow took the game's MVP honors behind a record-setting 52 points. Davis actually had the same weighted voting score as George, but the latter won the tiebreaker for having more fan support.
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Ditch the requirements of conference affiliations and position designations, and both Davis and Jokic are locks for the starting group. But under this format, the Joker stands as one of the (literally) biggest snubs.
The 23-year-old is already proving to be a franchise-changer in Denver. Remember when the Nuggets seemed stuck in a post-Carmelo Anthony malaise? That feels like forever ago in large part because Jokic's rare size-skill blend has pushed this team into the elite tier.
Jokic is Denver's leader in points (19.8), rebounds (10.3) and assists (7.7). He's on pace to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only 7-footers to ever average a 19/10/7 line. Jokic, by the way, also sits just one spot beneath Davis on the RPM leaderboard.
While Davis perhaps could've been dinged by the Pelicans' performance, the Nuggets' play should've helped Jokic. They have the West's second-best record (31-15) and net rating (plus-5.0), and no one means more to those rankings than Jokic.
Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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