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With a short Thursday slate of games under wraps, most of the NBA now prepare for All-Star Weekend, and Joel Embiid will look to take part in it once again, this time being part of the big game — chosen as a starter for Team Stephen.
Though in his eyes, teammate Ben Simmons should have made the roster among other NBA studs.
Article Continues Below“I think he should've been an All-Star because Goran Dragic got picked to play and John Wall,” said Embiid, according to Alysha Tsuji of USA TODAY Sports' For The Win. “At the time, Miami had the fourth-best record in the East and they didn't have any All-Stars, so I feel like that was the reason they didn't pick him (Simmons), and then Drummond, he's in the playoff race and his numbers are insane and I could see why they picked him because Detroit didn't have an All-Star either.”
Yet Embiid had one particular bone to pick with a selection he wasn't completely fond of.
“The only one I didn't really understand was Kemba (Walker) because we have the better record,” Embiid added. “Ben's numbers are better than all those guys… defensively he's one of the best defensively in the league.”
“I don't know. I wouldn't say there's anything against rookies in the league, but it's hard. That's a hard decision Adam Silver has to make. Starting next year, Ben is going to have many opportunities to be an All-Star, but he should've been an All-Star.”
Simmons is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year, along with the meteoric rise of Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. Having sat out the 2016-17 season with an injury, Simmons has come back like a bat out of hell, posting averages of 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game getting it done in all facets of the game.
