Domantas Sabonis snubbed from NBA All-Star honor
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As the NBA's leader in rebounds and double-doubles, there was no reason for Domantas Sabonis to be denied another all-star honor after he was snubbed while in a similar position last year.
And yet, it happened again — despite putting up numbers that only Wilt Chamberlain has reached before, the Gonzaga men's basketball standout won't be participating in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game after he was snubbed from a spot during Inside the NBA's reveal of the East and West reserves on TNT Thursday.
Instead, NBA coaches decided the West all-star reserves will be Anthony Edwards of Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers, James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers, Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies, Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets, Jalen Williams from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
In 44 appearances this season, the 28-year-old Sabonis is averaging 20.9 points, a league-best 14.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He's also leading the association in double-doubles with 42 and ranks No. 2 in 3-point field goal percentage at 48.1%. Sabonis is No. 8 in the NBA in player efficiency rating (24.1) and third in win shares (7.5), as the Sacramento Kings (24-23) sit 1.5 games back of the 8 seed in the Western Conference.
"That's an all-star right there," Shaquille O'Neal said of Sabonis' snub after the all-star reveal.
It's rare for a player to put up the numbers Sabonis has so far in 2024-25, and it's equally as uncommon to come short of an all-star nod while doing so, according to NBA history. Chamberlain is the only player to finish a season averaging 20 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, which Sabonis is currently on pace for, and only one another player has missed the NBA All-Star game while putting up at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game (Russell Westbrook in 2021).
Though he hasn't achieved all-star status since the 2022-23 season, Sabonis has been named to the All-NBA third team in back-to-back campaigns while earning votes for the Most Valuable Player of the Year award. The 6-foot-10 Lithuanian finished eighth in the MVP race in 2023-24 after finishing seventh the year prior. Sabonis has been the league's leader in rebounds in each of the past two seasons as well.
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