The Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons has been snubbed from an All-Star Game appearance once again after Kevin Love’s injury replacement was named. The NBA announced that the Miami Heat’s Goran Dragic was selected to play in his place in the 2018 midseason classic.
It was the third time the Australian wasn’t chosen this year.
Labor MP Tim Watts, a member of Australia’s House of Representatives, went on an epic rant, via a video by the ABC from down under, to express the country’s frustration of not having an opportunity to see their countryman become an All-Star.
Article Continues Below“I rise today to express my outrage at the exclusion of Australian Ben Simmons from the NBA All Star game,” Watts said. “In a record-breaking rookie year for the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben is currently averaging nearly 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists in a game.”
“He's already had five triple-doubles, and frankly no one with two brain cells to rub together would want Goran Dragic [included in the team to replace Kevin Love] on their team over Ben.”
A member of the Australian House of Representatives is outraged that Ben Simmons is not an all-star. Here's his epic rant: pic.twitter.com/PVeoGhILgl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 7, 2018
He’s right. Simmons was snubbed in the All-Star voting even though he received the third-most votes for any guard in the NBA. Later, two other Eastern Conference players were injured, but the Sixers phenom still didn’t get the nod to play in the prestigious event.
The Louisiana State University alum is one of the league’s best rookies and the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award.
For the season, Simmons is averaging 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, numbers that are usually reserved for the best players the NBA has to offer.