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The 2023 NBA All-Star teams are set, which, of course, means that there are a handful of players that did not make the cut for the All-Star rosters.
First, here are the full All-Star squads as of today (injury replacements could change things a tad before All-Star weekend) with the starters listed ahead of reserves:
Western Conference: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Zion Williamson, Paul George, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Damian Lillard, Lauri Markkanen, Ja Morant, Domantas Sabonis.
Eastern Conference: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Jaylen Brown, DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Julius Randle, Jrue Holiday.
Right off the bat, I’ll say that I disagree with Williamson being an All-Star, much less an All-Star starter. He’s only played in 29 games this season and for me, that disqualifies him. But, he’s popular and he got the fan vote and so there’s nothing to be done there.
Understanding the reasoning behind not agreeing with the Williamson pick will help to understand some of the reasoning behind snub explanations.
In general, there are the players that are considered (widely, but not by me) to be All-Star snubs this season:
West: Anthony Davis, Aaron Gordon, Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Edwards and De’Aaron Fox.
East: James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Darius Garland, Kristaps Porziņģis, Pascal Siakam and Trae Young.
While fan, media and players vote for the All-Star starters, it’s the NBA coaches who decide on the All-Star reserves. When they are looking at who is deserving of a spot on the roster, they are definitely taking into account the availability of a player.
So, it makes sense that Davis, Booker and Leonard, who have each only played in 29 games, were excluded. Coaches are going to vote against the guys that are difficult to scout for and when they aren’t even on the scouting report, they aren’t going to get attention.
That probably also played a part in why Harden and Butler did not make the cut because they have played in 34 and 38 games, respectively, (and even less when the coaches were voting).
I think that there is a fair case to made for Fox, Gordon, Edwards and Siakam. But as Jazz head coach Will Hardy said, voting is really, really hard and no matter what “somebody gets screwed.â€
Coaches take into account team record, player efficiency, difficulty of a matchup and many other factors, and those no doubt went into deciding to leave some of these players off the rosters. Young has some consistency and efficiency issues, as well as some turnover issues, the Hawks aren’t that good and neither are Siakam’s Raptors or Porziņģis’ Wizards.
Mitchell is clearly the threat in Cleveland and that has to leave many to wonder if Garland would have as successful of a team without him. Also, Minnesota has had a really rocky season and Edwards hasn’t been the most efficient player.
Personally I think that the only true snubs were Fox and Siakam. But, that’s just one woman’s opinion.
New with the Jazz
This week in Jazz history
On Feb. 1, 2001, the Utah Jazz’s Karl Malone grabbed the 13,000th rebound of his career in an 87-76 win over Charlotte, helping him become the sixth player in NBA history to record 26,000 points and 13,000 rebounds in his career. Malone joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Malone finished his NBA career with 14,968 rebounds and is currently 7th on the NBA’s all-time rebounder list.
This week on ‘Unsalvageable’
Check out “Unsalvageable,†hosted by Deseret News Utah Jazz beat reporter Sarah Todd and lifelong Jazz fan Greg Foster (no, not that Greg Foster).
This week the crew dabbles in some news from around the league (Kyrie Irving’s trade demand) before talking about All-Star Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz’s youth movement with Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji and some possible trade scenarios.
New episodes come out every week. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and anywhere else you stream podcasts.
Stat of the week
Lauri Markkanen has the highest 3-point field goal percentage in the NBA among players who have made 110-or-more 3-pointers. Heading into Friday night’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, Markkanen had made 150 3-pointers, shooting at a 43.4% rate.
From the archives
Extra points
- How to take part in the NBA’s All-Star weekend events on any budget (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Walker Kessler is a rising star and starter. The next step — become a closer (Deseret News)
- Will Malik Beasley compete in the 3-point contest? He sure hopes so (Deseret News)
- The growth and adaptability of Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler (Deseret News)
Around the league
Kyrie Irving requests trade from Brooklyn Nets.
Dwyane Wade’s son Zaire Wade to play for Basketball Africa League.
LeBron James is closing in on the NBA’s all-time scoring record.
Up next
Feb. 6 | 7 p.m. | Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks | AT&T SportsNet
Feb. 8 | 7 p.m. | Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves | AT&T SportsNet
Feb. 10 | 5:30 p.m. | Utah Jazz @ Toronto Raptors | AT&T SportsNet
