Every year basketball fans vote for players to play in the NBA all-star game and every year the same thing happens; someone is snubbed. This year that player is Golden State Warrior shooting guard Monta Ellis.
Ellis averages 25.4 ppg to go along with 5.5 assists per game (apg) and he can turn an opponent’s minor mental lapse into a fast break without breaking a sweat. He leads the league in assists for shooting guards and is third in the league in steals with 2.23 steals per game (spg).
Ellis is one of the most dominating scorers in the league and only trails Kevin Durrant, Lebron James and Amare Stoudemire in ppg. So why was Ellis snubbed?
You could make this argument every year for a number of players that don’t receive the recognition they deserve by playing in the all-star game. This year that argument could be made for Memphis Grizzly Zach Randolph and Portland Trailblazer LaMarcus Aldridge. Randolph is a dominating rebounder and scorer averaging over a double-double per game with 20.3 points per game (ppg) and a monstrous 13.2 rebound per game (rpg). Aldridge is averaging 21.6 ppg with 9.1 rpg and will most likely end the season with a double-double average if he continues to play at a high level. However, the biggest snub this year is still Ellis.
The problem is that fans have the only say in the election process, and have turned the NBA all-star game into a popularity contest instead of a reward for excellent play.
It cheapens the game when the best players don’t get the honor of being an all-star. This year’s most undeserving all-stars were Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, San Antonio Spur Tim Duncan, and Houston Rocket Yao Ming. It is hard to fathom that out of all the great players in the Eastern Conference, only five teams sent players to all-star weekend. For example, Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson averages 17.6 ppg with 9.1 rpg and plays over 32 minutes a game, while the all-star starting center Tim Duncan only averages 13.5 ppg.
Additionally, a minimum amount of games played should be mandatory for a player to be selected. That way Yao Ming wouldn’t have taken a roster spot and have been rewarded for only playing five games this season. The commissioner wouldn’t have had to pick a replacement in Kevin Love who should have been a starter in the first place. Granted, Love would have made the reserves for the Western Conference, but in no way should Yao Ming have been on the ballot to begin with.
Another problem is that players don’t get selected if their teams aren’t winning. This could happen to an average or even great player. It’s true that a team is usually a reflection of its star player, but every team has at least one player whose statistics alone warrant all-star consideration.
The solution is simple. Choose one player from each team. That way, all-star-worthy players are not left off the roster because their team doesn’t have a winning record. In Major League Baseball, it’s mandatory to pick at one player from each team, and the MLB all-star game also has a purpose by determining home field advantage in the World Series.
If I had three wishes, I would implement a playoff system in college football, eliminate the designated hitter in baseball, and make every major sport’s all-star voting be an election process. This makes the all-star game not only entertaining on the field, but also allows the right decisions to be made on who is voted in. This way Monta Ellis won’t be watching the all-star game from his couch.
