With the NBA announcing the All-Star reserves on Feb. 2, we now know the full list of players that will head to Salt Lake City for the league’s mid-season showcase of the sport’s premier players. Players like Paul George, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, leading Most Improved Player candidate Lauri Markkanen, DeMar DeRozan, and Jaylen Brown will join starters like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Nikola Jokic.
Suffice it to say, the East and West teams aren’t short on talent, which speaks well to the league’s overall health in terms of quality. However, that surplus of skill comes with the drawback that some deserving players get omitted from All-Star consideration.
On the plus side, those players get to enjoy a nice break (and don’t have to endure a live Post Malone concert), but that merely numbs the sting of missing out on a prestigious accolade.
So, let’s look at three players who just missed making the NBA All-Star team.
These are players who have produced at a high level this year but didn’t do enough to crack the East or West rosters, either because of the depth at the position, the record of the player’s team, or a general lack of national recognition.