Joel Embiid Not Named All-Star Starter — Disrespected Once Again
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
The NBA All-Star Starters were released last night and there was one star left out of the line-up. 76ers Center Joel Embiid. The Eastern Conference starters are Donovan Mitchell, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. With the format being three front-court and only two back-court players Embiid ended up being the odd man out.
Embiid is currently leading the NBA in scoring at 33.4 points per game after winning last years scoring title. He also has finished second in MVP voting each of the last two seasons, but he isn’t one of the best three best front-court players in the Eastern Conference?
Embiid will most likely still be named an All-Star reserve.
The problem with All-Star starter voting is it is mostly a popularity contest. 50% of the votes that determines who starts is by fan voting. Guys like KD and Giannis are locks to be starters no matter what year it is, but Embiid should be at that level by now with all of his allocates. He is a better player than Tatum and deserves his spot. This is just another chapter of the book of disrespect to how great Embiid is.
The NBA released their newest MVP ladder where Embiid is number two, behind Nikola Jokic. Jokic has won each of the last two MVPs while Embiid has been second each year. Voters for these awards love to praise Jokic for his advanced metrics while saying Embiid’s stats are not good enough. Even some NBA legends have taken shots at Embiid over the years while praising Jokic in the same breath. Jokic is a fantastic player, but Embiid deserves more respect.
