The NBA has announced the starters for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. The Eastern Conference will feature overall top-vote getter and captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, reigning MVP Joel Embiid, and Celtics star Jayson Tatum in the frontcourt. Indiana Pacers rising star and hometown boy Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard will start in the backcourt.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will captain the Western Conference with reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant in the frontcourt. The West starting backcourt will feature Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and Thunder rising superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Of course, the announcement drew some backlash from NBA fans and they voiced out their disagreement on the stars penciled in to start the NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, that's just the name of the game. It's a popularity contest with fan voting playing a major role in determining who gets the nod. The NBA is entertainment at the end of the day and sometimes, it just comes down to who has more fans.
Not starting shouldn't discredit their terrific seasons. These NBA All-Star starter snubs still deserve the honor, but unfortunately, they can't control what the fans, media, and their fellow players vote on.
Nonetheless, let's take a look at the biggest starter snubs of this year's NBA All-Star game. Let's start with a future 1st ballot Hall of Famer who has always been voted in as a starter until now.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
The media and the players got it right by voting in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic as the starting backcourt in the Western Conference. But it wouldn't feel right to have this All-Star starters snub list and snub Stephen Curry on it.
By all accounts, Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic deserve the nod over the Golden State Warriors superstar. Both are having MVP-caliber seasons. SGA has led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top of the Western Conference standings. Meanwhile, Doncic has carried the Dallas Mavericks all season despite being rattled with injuries.
The numbers speak for themselves, too. On the season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and a league-leading 2.3 steals, while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 89.0 percent from the free throw line. Doncic is averaging 33.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 9.3 assists on 48.2 percent field goal shooting and 37.3 percent shooting from deep.
Meanwhile, Curry's numbers are subpar to his standards, to say the least. He is tallying just 26.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on a career-low 44.6 percent field goal shooting and 40.1 percent three-point shooting.
Nonetheless, the four-time NBA champion did get the fan vote over Gilgeous-Alexander. But SGA and Luka got the nod from the media and players. After being named a starter for his first nine NBA All-Star nods, Curry will unfortunately have to come off the bench for the 10th All-Star appearance of his career. (yes, he will still make it).
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
If we're basing the All-Star starting five based on play alone, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson deserves to start in Indianapolis. There is an argument to be made that Brunson has been the best guard in the Eastern Conference this season.
In 42 games this year, the Knicks star is averaging a career-best 26.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. And he is doing this while leading New York to the 5th seed in the East with a 27-17 record, including 10-2 in January.
Tyrese Haliburton was essentially a lock to start, being the lead vote getter among guards. So, whoever wound up not getting the starting spot alongside the Pacers star would have wound up here anyway. As mentioned, this is a popularity contest and Brunson just doesn't carry the same name value as that of Haliburton and Lillard, who are both starting in the All-Star game for the first time in their careers.
By all accounts, Brunson deserves the nod over Dame simply because his numbers and impact on the Knicks surpass Lillard's. The now eight-time All-Star isn't having the best season of his career. While he is still producing 25.3 points a game, his efficiency is well-below what it has been over his prime years in Portland. Brunson, meanwhile, is putting up the best numbers of his career, all while being the No. 1 guy on a Knicks team that is on the doorstep of being one of the East's elites.
Brunson came close, however, as Ernie Johnson mentioned during the reveal. He was a close third among East guards just behind Lillard. Nonetheless, the spitfire Knicks guard will earn his first All-Star nod, so that should still keep his spirits up.
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Tyrese Haliburton was essentially a lock in the Eastern Conference, being the lead vote getter among guards. So, whoever wound up not getting the second starting spot would have wound up here anyway. Unfortunately, Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell did not make the cut either.
On the season, Mitchell is averaging 27.6 points and career-bests in rebounds (5.4) and assists (6.2) while shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from beyond the arc. And he's doing this while leading a Cavaliers team rattled with injuries through much of the season.
After a rather slow start to the campaign, Cleveland has been one of the hotter teams in the NBA since mid-December, despite playing without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. Led by Mitchell, they've especially turned it up a notch in January, where they won eight straight games for an 8-2 record this month so far.
As mentioned, Haliburton was already penciled in given he won the fan vote among East guards. So that left one more spot and unfortunately for Mitchell, who started in last year's All-Star game, Lillard's name was just too big for him and even Brunson to overcome.
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard is having one of his better seasons and has led the Los Angeles Clippers' surge to the upper echelon of the Western Conference after a slow start to the season. On the year, he is averaging 23.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and a career-best 44.3 percent from three.
Perhaps the best stat for Leonard is the fact that he he has played in all but four games for the Clippers this season. All these factor in why he will be a lock to return to the All-Star game for the first time in three years. The Clippers star has been named to the February exhibition five times in his career and has started in each instance.
The two-time NBA champion has been magnificent in leading the Clippers to the 4th-best record in the West and has the elite production and efficiency to warrant his sixth start in the All-Star game.
Unfortunately, there are only three spots to fill in the front court and the West is pretty much a lock with Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant all deserving of getting the starting nods this year. There is no argument for Leonard to get past Jokic, who is arguably the best player in the world right now. Leonard also doesn't hold the same all-time legacy standing that James and Durant do.
With that, the two-time NBA Finals MVP will just have to settle coming off the bench in the All-Star game for the first time in his career. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean The Klaw isn't deserving of a start. He still deserves to be on the shortlist of this season's NBA All-Star starter snubs.
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