Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Every year around the NBA, there’s a debate about the top All-Star snubs. Everyone has an opinion.
There’s always a few players who are deserving of a nod that don’t get selected. For these players, that could be the difference from collecting a nice little bonus and missing out on a million or so in cold hard cash.
New York Knicks forward Julius Randle received a bonus of $1.2 million for making the Eastern Conference NBA All-Star Team. Others missed out, including New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
Before we give you our top-five NBA All-Star snubs, let give a brief run down on the rosters for both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference after the reserves were announced on Thursday.
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Starters
Reserves
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Starters
Reserves
Now that we know the 24 players who have been selected to the game, let’s check in on the biggest NBA All-Star snubs of 2023.
There’s other names that could be mentioned here. Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam and Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers come to mind. But here are the five we came up with.
Despite missing 16 games to injury this season, Harden has been at his prior MVP level when on the court for Philadelphia. He’s averaging 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 11.0 assists while shooting what would be a career-high 39% from three-point range.
What makes Harden one of the biggest NBA All-Star snubs of 2023 is the fact that he’s playing at a much higher level than the past two seasons despite earning nods both years. His resume also includes Philadelphia boasting a 20-6 record since he’s returned from injury.
What the heck does Brunson have to do in order to get credit? He’s played like a true superstar in his first season with the Knicks, averaging 22.8 points and 6.2 assists on 47% shooting. Brunson is also nailing 39% of his three-point attempts.
Over the course of his previous 14 games ahead of being snubbed Thursday evening, Brunson was averaging 29.1 points on 44% shooting from distance. He has New York as a playoff contender back east. He should be an All-Star. In reality, Brunson deserved this nod over both Tyrese Haliburton and Jrue Holiday.
Inconsistent? Sure. Absolutely dominating at times? Yes. That’s the story of this 21-year-old former top pick. But the All-Star Game should include entertainment value. Edwards would’ve brought that to the table.
As it is, the former NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up has been so darn good thus far in 2022-23. Edwards is averaging 24.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists while hitting on 46% of his shots. An argument could be made that he deserved this nod over Paul George.
Apparently, Sabonis is getting all of the respect for Sacramento’s turnaround this season. That’s crazy given that Fox has been in it for the long haul and has upped his game big time under new head coach Mike Brown.
How good has Fox been this season? He’s dropped over 30 points 14 times and has boasted nine-plus assists 13 other times. All said, the 25-year-old guard is averaging 24.3 points and 6.1 assists on a resounding 51% shooting. He’s doing this for a Kings team that’s currently the third seed out west.
Despite Atlanta’s down season, Young continues to fill up the stat sheet. The dude is averaging 27.0 points and a resounding 9.9 assists. Sure his shooting splits are down (43% from the field, 32% from distance). But Young’s overall game has been stellar.
It’s interesting to look at. Young earned a trip to the exhibition game back in 2019-20 before missing out the following season and returning to the “elite group” last year. Now, he’s one of the biggest NBA All-Star snubs this time around.