2021 NBA All-Star Game snubs: Who deserved to make the team?
When the NBA All-Star team is announced every year, you can always count on one thing: snubs. There will forever be All-Star quality players with a worthy resume not make the cut to the big game.
Tonight, the reserves for the NBA All-Star Game were announced and as always, the complaints and campaigning for the snubbed players immediately took over NBA Twitter.
You can see the 2021 NBA All-Star Game starters here, and the list of reserves here. The All-Star Game will be staged as a one-night event on Sunday, March 7th, in Atlanta, and will be combined with the annual 3-point Contest and Slam Dunk contest.
(Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports)
2021-2022 season: 24.7 pts, 3.8 reb, 4.3 ast Devin Booker is an All-Star player, no doubt about it. With the help of Chris Paul this season, Booker and the Suns are currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference at 20-10. After going undefeated in the bubble to close out last season, Booker played meaningful basketball, for what some could say, the first time in his young career. Now that the Suns are winning games, there's no reason the former Kentucky Wildcat shouldn't be an All-Star.
Mike Conley
(Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports)
2021-2022 season: 16.4 pts, 3.4 reb, 5.6 ast A 14-year career and no All-Star appearances for Mike Conley is absurd. The streak continues this season as Conley struck out once again. The Jazz, holding the best record in the NBA by far at 25-6, you'd think this might be the year Conley squeaks in with how impressive his advanced stats are. But, the media awarded his teammates, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in his place, and well deservingly so. You have to wonder how many All-Star appearances Conley would have if he played in the Eastern Conference during his prime. The answer to that is certainly not zero.
(Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports)
2021-2022 season: 19.8 pts, 5.0 reb, 6.9 ast DeMar DeRozan and the San Antonio Spurs have somewhat shocked the NBA this season. No one thought that the Spurs would find themselves in the thick of things in the middle of the Western Conference. But here they are, sitting as the sixth seed in the West at 16-11. DeRozan leads the way for the Spurs not only on the statsheet but in the locker room as a veteran presence. DDR has emerged as a facilitator for San Antonio, a role that he didn't play much of in Toronto.
(Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)
2021-2022 season: 26.9 pts, 3.9 reb, 9.5 ast Though he was named an All-Star last season, Trae Young missed the mark this season. The stats? They're there. The fan affair? There. But Trae didn't receive enough love from his fellow players, ranking 11th in player voting for the guards. The media gifted the likes of Zach LaVine and Ben Simmons guard reserve spots over Young, which though deserving, Young is everything to Atlanta. Without Young, the Hawks are lost.
(Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)
2021-2022 season: 21.5 pts, 11.6 reb, 5.7 ast Domantas Sabonis was arguably the biggest snub for the Eastern Conference. He does a little bit of everything for Pacers. With TJ Warren and Myles Turner missing some time along with the Victor Oladipo trade, Sabonis has stepped up to the plate and performed regardless of the moving pieces around him. With Indiana currently sitting as the fourth seed in the East, it's hard to imagine why Sabonis wasn't awarded his second straight appearance. A snub indeed.
Bam Adebayo
(Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports)
2021-2022 season: 19.6 pts, 9.5 reb, 5.5 ast Though the Miami Heat have had a disappointing first half of their season, currently tenth in the Eastern Conference, Bam Adebayo has been everything and more of an All-Star for the team. The Heat have been hit with both the injury bug and COVID to start the season but Bam has been the one constant. Playing in 29 of 31 games, Adebayo affects the game in every facet. His improvement on the offensive end, facing up and creating for himself or his teammates, has led this Heat team so far this season.
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