Triple-double machine Russell Westbrook, the league’s leading scorer, will not be among the Western Conference starters for next month’s All-Star Game in New Orleans. The league’s Twitter feed unveiled the starters for each conference, and the Thunder superstar lost out in the balloting to Stephen Curry and James Harden (Twitter links).
As ESPN.com’s Rachel Nichols points out, the fan voting counts for 50%, while the players’ votes weigh in at 25%, as does the media vote under the revised system. According to NBC’s Kurt Helin, Westbrook missed out because the fans had him third among Western Conference guards behind Curry and Harden.
Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant will comprise the starting frontcourt for the West.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler and LeBron James were selected as the frontcourt starters for the Eastern Conference. DeMar DeRozan and Kyrie Irving were chosen as the starting backcourt.
It’s a breakthrough for Antetokounmpo, who will be making his first All-Star appearance. Arguably the biggest snub on the Eastern Conference side was Celtics point man Isaiah Thomas, the fourth-leading scorer in the league and the conference’s top scorer.
Do you think Westbrook should have garnered a starting spot ahead of Curry or Harden? Besides Westbrook, which other player has the biggest beef about failing to land a starting spot in the league’s annual showcase event? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts.
Isaiah should be starting with derozan. Isaiah is having a better season than Kyrie
Absurd. Talking about the best player in the league right now and he’s not starting.
Volume does not mean he’s the best player.
They’re typically very much associated. Greatness is based on Stats and Rings. If you don’t have the stats but you have the Rings you’re Steve Kerr/Robert Horry neither mistaken as the best player at any point of their career. If you have the Stats but no Rings your’e Barkley and Iverson both in consideration for best player multiple times in their career. Westbrook is in the Barkley/Iverson – probably never going to get a ring, but likely to get an MVP.
I see no reason Isiah doesn’t start over Kyrie.
I mean Derozan! Ha! My bad.
Derozan has arguably been better than both Kyrie and Isaiah. Derozan would be a huge starter snub if he wasn’t starting. It should’ve been Derozan and either Isaiah or Wall.
Irving number one with players and fans. Only out of the top two from media and there he was third. If fans only Wade would be starting. The tiebreaker was not between Irving and anybody, it was between Derozan and Thomas. The former finished third with the fans while the latter was fourth (Wall nowhere to be seen in the tops among any voting group). I actually think they got it right in the East.
Thomas is just as big of a snub … unreal he isn’t starting
This is what happens when the fans vote in the starting line ups. It’s going to be a popularity contest and Westbrook isn’t more popular that curry or harden so he isn’t going to start.
I’d take Westbrook & Harden over Curry and Harden in THIS year’s AS. Curry having his worst FG% since 2012-13, worst 3PT% in his career and b/c of Durant his stats are all down. You can’t even bring wins into this… Curry has Durant, Green, and Thompson. Westbrook has Dipo sometimes and Kanter/Adams.
Westbrook is averaging a Triple Double argument over.
IT4 > Kyrie this year too plain & simple.
Z-A. Steph is still averaging 25 ppg…if thats a slump then watch out…
Not a slump, just way less efficient.
No way does Westbrook deserve to start. Averaging a triple double isn’t a good sign. What that means is you’re a ball hog who could care less about winning, Westbrook is a one dimensional player who even on the warriors would be a 6th man at best.
you’re obviously trying to troll
Though, Thompson is a better fit with the Warriors lineup than Westbrook, and I’m not sure as the Warriors you could bench Steph Curry, so it’s very possible that if it were possible to add Westbrook to the current roster, it is possible, but unlikely that he may not start.
You could go very small and bump Durant to 4 and Thompson to the 3 I guess, with Zaza or Draymond at the 5, but that’s a very small lineup.
yeah but look how versatile all those players are. I’m an okc fan so I obviously think Russ is better than Curry
The thing is when you put talented people in the lineup with Westbrook he drops off big time. He’s this generations kobe. Westbrook has one skill, speed/explosiveness. Teams are letting him “do his thing” because he can’t win alone, and it’s a better bet to lock down easier players to defend, and keep anyone else from having a big night. How many triple doubles resulted in a OKC loss? There is no denying he is fun to watch and is single handedly carrying the team, but that’s not really a good team then is it? Durant made everyone around him better, Westbrook acts like a brat and it has a negative effect. The reason I will defend curry and thompson without fail is less basketball and more personality. Thompson and curry are arguably the best guard combo in history, while also being the humblest althetes in the sport. Thompsons quote of driving a hand me down Honda Accord even though he was making $10+ million a year so tells you almost everything you need to know. The world needs more currys/Thompsons and less lebrons/westbrooks.
Yes because the world needs more guys who either can’t defend and can only score or guys who can defend and score but not doing anything else (as in rebound or pass the ball) for their team over guys who do everything possible to help their team. Also, Curry is far from being the most humble athlete in basketball. Yeah he doesn’t go out and demand the big bucks (which he will when he becomes a free agent), but no humble athlete goes around shimmying and dancing before the ball goes in/after it goes in.
Also, its hard to expect Westbrook not to carry the Thunder and do everything when the second best offensive player on the team is Enes Kanter and the team’s second best player might be Victor Oladipo, who is seemingly always hurt, inconsistent, and is a third option/6th man at best.
Swap Westbrook and Durant, making Durant the single star on the Thunder, and I don’t see the Thunder doing that much better except maybe having a higher FG percentage and a lower turnover rate…important stats but hardly relevant when the rest of the team isn’t that good.
Only 4 resulted in a loss…16-4 when he trip dubs so you’re argument that it’s not even helping them win is, well wrong.
lol? OKC wins 78% of their games when Russ gets a triple double. They literally have a losing record when he doesn’t. You’re obviously a troll
a guy who averages a triple double and more than 12 assists per game is a ball hog? tell that to your pg. how many assists does he avg? oh yeah right.
Kyle Lowry not being a starter in the Eastern Conference is appalling.
Correct.
Wasn’t Embiid 4th in the East front court behind LeBron, Greek Freak and Love? How did he get jumped by Butler? They gotta behind bring it back to 2G, 2F & 1C for the voting. There are better centers in the league now than when they changed it to the new voting format.
While the new system is better, I think they have to further lower the fan vote percentage. I mean they fixed a huge part by adding the media and player votes, but the fan voting needs to be further reduced. I mean, the fans almost voted in Zaza Pachulia as a starter.
who cares about who’s starting cause they all play. honestly, the real story to me here is that this could rob us the handle of watching kd and russ work together again. I mean the guys aren’t on speaking terms and could’ve been put on the floor at the same time. It better still happen or i’m gonna be real bummed
Who cares? It’s a starting spot in an exhibition game. It means nothing.
complete joke best player in league not on all star team?? joke..
over who? curry and harden? two guys who play less D than my grandma….