Paul George is fully deserving and did not make the NBA All-Star team. The problem is the West is loaded and every one of the 12 players selected — including the reserves — has a very legitimate case for being there. Russell Westbrook didn’t see it that way and went off, throwing shade at the Warriors getting four players in and Damian Lillard complaining very publicly he always gets overlooked, then not getting overlooked.
Russell Westbrook is pissed that Paul George didn’t make the All Star team pic.twitter.com/n7XXztuE1V
— SneakerReporter (@SneakerReporter) January 24, 2018
Kevin Durant was asked about this, and his response was basically the shrug emoji. There are always going to be snubs. Via Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News.
ICYMI: Russell Westbrook called it "outrageous" Paul George didn't make All-Star team. Westbook also implied Warriors shouldn't have four players in the All-Star game. So I talked to Kevin Durant for his take https://t.co/F3zw3ospNp pic.twitter.com/mhtZ5Hgftb
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 24, 2018
With the massive talent migration West last summer, good players were going to be left out. It’s inevitable (and this is with Kawhi Leonard essentially out of the running due to injuries, or it would be worse). Paul George is on the outside looking in, and that’s not fair but it’s reality.
Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy made a great point when asked about his own Andre Drummond not making it — if you’re going to say a player got snubbed, then tell me who you would take off the team. (I’m as guilty of this as anyone.) When a reporter suggests Drummond should have been in over Al Horford, SVG has a good defense of Horford. Winning matters, which is why there are four Warriors on the All-Star Team again. And Lillard has a very legitimate case to be there.
Ultimately it’s just an exhibition game, but the recognition matters. The league could/should expand the rosters to 15, but honestly, we’d all then just say the 16th player got snubbed. Fair or not.