NBA All Star Game Needs Repair
Fans and coaches should not be selecting NBA All Star rosters.
To coin an overused phrase, "the NBA All Star game is for the fans." The fact is that All Star weekend is not just for the fans. There are player incentives included in many NBA player contracts which offer bonuses to the player for making the All Star team. The idea is to reward a player for exceptional performance on the court. The problem with this is that the players who are most often picked for the All Star team are the ones who hold the most popularity by fans or are lucky enough to play for great teams. Therefore, players that are selected to All Star roster are often not the most deserving, which compromises the credibility of the event.
The onus is on the fans to select the All Star starters, but this has resulted in a mockery of the event. For example, Shaquille O’Neal was voted to his 14th NBA All Star game as a starter for the Eastern Conference this year. Yet, O’Neal has played in only 12 games due to injury and has averaged an abysmal 14.1 ppg and 5.9 rbpg – all career lows. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is having a career year, averaging 17.6 ppg and 11.8 rbpg. He was selected to the team as a reserve.
Yao Ming has been voted as a starter in each of his five seasons in the NBA, because the NBA allows fans to fill out All Star ballots via the internet. As a result, fans in China are able to vote for Yao, their hometown hero, every year. This is actually the first season he’s deserved the honor, averaging 25.9 ppg, 9.4 rpb and 2.2 bspg in 27 games. In his rookie season, Yao was voted as a starter over Shaquille O’Neal. Yao averaged 13.5 ppg and 8.2 rbpg that season compared to O’Neal’s 27.5 ppg and 11.1 rbpg.
NBA coaches select the All Star reserves. Though it could be argued that the coaches are more qualified to select the All Star team than fans, they are bias toward team record as opposed to individual performance. Winning is ultimately what’s most important in the NBA and players who have helped their teams win should be rewarded for their play, but an All Star Game selection is an individual honor, not a team honor. Moreover, not every player has the luxury of playing on a talented team.
For example, Spurs’ point guard, Tony Parker, was recently selected to his second straight All Star team as a reserve over Ray Allen and Josh Howard. Yet, Parker’s numbers aren’t extraordinary (19.0 ppg and 5.6 apg) and he has the advantage of playing with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Ray Allen, on the other hand, plays for a team that does not offer the same kind of support as the Spurs’ lineup and has been without Rashard Lewis, its second leading scorer, for much of the season and without its starting center, Robert Swift, for the entire season. Allen has had to carry more on his shoulders than Parker and has delivered with 26.9 ppg, 4.2 rbpg and 4.2 apg, despite being double and triple teamed every single night.
In addition, Josh Howard is having a career year, averaging 19.5 ppg and 7.2 rbpg and is helping the Dallas Mavericks to an even better record than the Spurs. Howard was only added to the All Star roster to replace an injured player.
Even Deron Williams, averaging 17.1 ppg and 9.1 apg, is more deserving than Tony Parker.
For the above mentioned reasons, NBA sports writers should select the NBA All Star teams, not fans and coaches. They have more of a holistic perspective than NBA coaches and are more knowledgeable than the casual fan. The logic that the All Star game should feature mediocre players or exceptional players who are having mediocre seasons because “it’s what the fans want to see” discredits the event and needs to be corrected.
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