Like most basketball fans, I’m looking forward to seeing Kobe Bryant in his final NBA All-Star game out in Toronto on Valentine’s Day. But he did not receive a single vote on my ballot this year because to vote him in as a starter would be dumber than Sarah Palin.
Call me old school, but there comes a point when all of the all-time greats need to either be chosen as a reserve by the coaches, or be content to take the game in like everybody else, as a fan watching at home or in a court-side seat.
Because once their game starts approaching the point of diminishing returns, and we begin cringing at the fact that they are no longer the dynamic force of nature that they once were, that their game now stinks like hot garbage, to quote the great urban philosopher Teddy Pendergrass, it’s time to LET IT GO!!!
In a perfect hoops universe, The All-Star game starters would be the very best five players at their respective positions.
But that is rarely what we get. To illustrate how bizarre it is to allow the fans to vote on the game’s starters, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard beat out the Dallas Mavericks’ Zaza Pachulia for a spot in the top five. Not Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki or Blake Griffin, but ZAZA PACHULIA!!!
The Eastern Conference starting lineup, announced on Thursday, is as follows:
GUARD: Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
GUARD: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
FRONT COURT: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
FRONT COURT: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
FRONT COURT: Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
The Western Conference starting five is:
GUARD: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
GUARD: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
FRONT COURT: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
FRONT COURT: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
FRONT COURT: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Now if an educated group was responsible for the game’s starters, picking solely on the basis of who have been the best players halfway through this year, the lineups would have looked like this –
EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR STARTERS
GUARD: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
GUARD: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
FRONT COURT: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
FRONT COURT: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
FRONT COURT: Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR STARTERS
GUARD: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
GUARD: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
FRONT COURT: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
FRONT COURT: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
FRONT COURT: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
As much as I love Kobe, D-Wade and Carmelo, they don’t deserve a starter’s spot over Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Andre Drummond this year.
And Kobe’s selection is beyond egregious, it’s akin to giving Eddie Murphy an Oscar for his work in Holy Man, Meet Dave, Pluto Nash and A Vampire in Brooklyn, simply because of his earlier fantastic work. It’s beyond dumb, and makes no sense.
As mentioned before, I wouldn’t be mad to see the coaches select Kobe to come off the bench, but if we’re keeping it 100 and picking the best players from the first half of the season, he deserves to be an All Star about as much as Donald Trump deserves to be President.
If the game showcases the best ballers from 2015-2016, the players selected as subs by the coaches should be:
EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR SUBS
Chris Bosh, Miami Heat
Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks
John Wall, Washington Wizards
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons
WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR SUBS
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
James Harden, Houston Rockets
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
It’s time to do away with this nonsense of sentimentality and living in the past. Being an All-Star is an honor that should be earned every year, not something that’s a residual benefit from past excellence.
When Muhammad Ali, aka The Greatest, lost his crown, he had to earn it back. And when he couldn’t, he was no longer the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
That didn’t mean we didn’t love him any more, because we still love him to this day. But it was simply someone else’s turn to wear the crown. It’s the same thing with Kobe. It’s a wrap, bro. Let a more-deserving young boy wear that crown.
It’s time that the NBA stopped the nonsense and repealed the fan’s All-Star vote. For a league that has long been known for it’s leadership and vision, this is inexplicably dumb.
Let’s be true to the game. Kobe will always be The Mamba, but even he knows that he ain’t no All-Star.
