The NBA All-Star game is a way to pay homage to the best players in professional basketball. But, as the most recent roster has shown, the selection process has become more of a popularity contest than an actual show of skill. The NBA needs to make significant changes to the selection process to restore the All-Star game’s legitimacy.
The voting system for the All-Star game has been the same since it began in 1951. The fans choose the starting players through popular vote and can currently vote online at NBA.com as often as once a day. The head coaches from around the league then select the reserve players. Reserve players are those who come off of the bench during All-Star games to replace the starters.
While the Western Conference starting lineup appears to be perfectly just at first glance, in comparison to the West’s reserves, it’s apparent that the best five players were not on the starting five.
The first issue with the West team is that Amare Stoudemire is the starting center. Stoudemire only averages .6 more rebounds a game than reserve center Dirk Nowitzki, who scores five more points on average and more blocks. Nowitzki is one of the most versatile and unique players in the NBA, is arguably the best three-point shooter in the game and has developed a spectacular inside game. In other words, he can hit a shot from anywhere on the court as a seven-foot forward.
Similar to the West, the starting lineup for the East has two players that just do not deserve to be starting.
Though Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett was voted to his 13th consecutive All-Star game this year, his recent knee surgery has kept his point, rebound and minute averages for the season at his lowest in since his rookie season. Garnett has also missed nine games this season due to his injury, and the Celtics have lost control of the Eastern Conference to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors have been seeing great success from forward Chris Bosh, who is having the best season of his career. In the Eastern Conference, he is third in scoring, fourth in rebounding and first in double-doubles with 33, yet when the East’s team took the court, it was Garnett, not Bosh, that started.
The issues on the Eastern Conference team go even deeper. Of the 45 games that the 76ers have played so far, point guard Allen Iverson has played in a little more than half of them. He is putting up the worst performance of his career in every category besides field goal percentage and clearly only won a spot in the starting lineup due to his legacy and past performance.
While well known veteran players are being voted to start the All-Star game’s starting lineup, the lack of name recognition for young players has placed them on the bench. Rajon Rondo, who leads the Eastern Conference in assists and steals per game, for example, didn’t make the starting lineup.
The best solution to the All-Star game’s woes would be a poll similar to that of the USA Today and ESPN rankings on college basketball. Sports broadcasters and writers make it their job to know all that there is to know about players and their performances. Who better to pick the best players in the NBA than the experts who spend their lives researching and getting to know the league?
The All-Star game is a way for fans to watch the best basketball players in the country team up and play the most entertaining and exciting game of the year. The game should stay that way instead of turn into a mere popularity contest.