NBA All-Star Game: Biggest Snubs and Surprises

The NBA announced the All-Star reserves. The Crossover staff breaks down the selections and snubs.

The NBA announced the reserves in each conference for the 2022 All-Star Game, which will be held in Cleveland on February 20.

West reserves: Devin Booker, Luka Dončić, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul and Karl-Anthony Towns.

East reserves: James Harden, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, Darius Garland, Khris Middleton and Fred VanVleet.

The Crossover staff discusses the biggest snubs and surprises.

Who is the biggest surprise among East reserves?

Howard Beck: It has to be Khris Middleton, who is certainly worthy but didn’t have as strong a case as his teammate Jrue Holiday.

Chris Mannix: Fred VanVleet! You don't need me to recap VanVleet's journey to get to this point—Howard Beck expertly did that earlier this week—but VanVleet's ascension into the upper levels of NBA guards has been remarkable, as has the surprisingly competitive play of the Raptors.

Michael Pina: Khris Middleton, who is having a typical Khris Middleton season, but the Bucks aren’t the best team in the conference and he isn’t the second-most important player on his team. In the weeks leading up to Thursday night’s announcement, Middleton was a fringe candidate to actually make the team.

Ashley Nicole Moss: Khris Middleton.

Rohan Nadkarni: There is not a huge surprise for me in the East, though I will say I am happy Darius Garland was selected. I love when players get to play in the game in their hometown, and the Cavs definitely deserved at least one representative from their team for the season they’ve been having. You could maybe make a case Jimmy Butler is a mild surprise—but only because he’s missed some time. He’s definitely been an All-Star in his time on the floor. Otherwise, it’s hard to find too much fault with the selections.

Chris Herring: Khris Middleton. I firmly expected guard Jrue Holiday—who’s been Milwaukee’s second-best player this year, and a menace defensively—to make it. (Cleveland guard Darius Garland and Toronto’s Fred VanVleet, who are each having great years of their own, got the spots instead. And I’m OK with that.) But I didn’t think Khris Middleton would be the Bucks’ second selection. So to me, his inclusion was the biggest surprise. Holiday’s been the better, more consistent player through the season’s first half.

Robin Lundberg: Khris Middleton, who just hasn't been as sharp this year. It feels like he earned the spot with what he did in the Bucks' championship campaign more than anything.

Who is the biggest surprise among West reserves?

Nadkarni: Well, the West reserves are stacked with good names, and that all has to do with Andrew Wiggins being a starter. There are no surprises here considering how the starting vote shook out. This is my most diplomatic way of saying that it would have been impossible for there to be a surprise among the West reserves because, frankly, Wiggins’s inclusion prevented that.

Herring: I didn’t think there was one, honestly. The coaches hit the nail on the head.

Lundberg: I'm not surprised by anyone in the West, so I'll go with Draymond Green (who will not be playing) simply because I wasn't sure he would ever make another one of these again. Credit to him for reminding everyone why he belongs in any conversation of the best defenders to ever take the court.

Beck: No surprises here, and no one who was even remotely controversial.

Pina: Even with Kawhi Leoanrd, Paul George, and Anthony Davis out of the conversation thanks to varying injuries, there weren’t any surprises! All seven players are more than deserving, if not obvious, multiple-time selections.

Moss: Probably, Draymond Green. For starters, rebounds and assists aside, he’s averaging 8 points this season. Slight Warriors bias here and I’m not mad, but this is extreme. Secondly, he’s injured.

Mannix: Can I still say Andrew Wiggins as a starter?

Who is the biggest All-Star snub in the East?

Pina: Jrue Holiday, who has been the second-best player on the Bucks this season. He’s (still) the gold standard on defense at his position, and a terrific playmaker who’s shot the ball well all year. If there was going to be a second selection from the defending champs, it should’ve been Holiday instead of Middleton.

Moss: It’s a toss-up between LaMelo Ball and Jaylen Brown. Both played great basketball in the first half of the season. Ball is averaging fewer points than Brown, but has more rebounds and assists. Either of them over Khris Middleton makes more sense to me.

Lundberg: LaMelo Ball. There are others who have a case but between the Hornets not being represented despite a solid season and the fact that his game is tailored for the All-Star exhibition, LaMelo was snubbed more than anyone.

Mannix: LaMelo Ball. The votes were in before Ball dropped a career-best 38 on Boston on Wednesday, but even before that performance, Ball, the driving force behind Charlotte's playoff push, was worthy. Here's hoping Adam Silver picks the flashy Ball to take Kevin Durant's spot.

Herring: I get people who are surprised by neither LaMelo or Miles Bridges being there. But I think it pretty obviously is Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen, who pretty easily has been the East’s second-best center. The players, fans and media all seemed to recognize it during the voting round, as he ranked fifth, sixth and fourth among those groups. Middleton—the player who presumably landed the last frontcourt spot instead—finished 32nd, 14th and 16th in those voting results among frontcourt guys.

Coaches got this one wrong, but since Durant figures to miss the game, hopefully Adam Silver makes it right.

Nadkarni: Jarrett Allen. He’s the best defender on the third-best defense in the entire league, and he’s also shooting a whopping 67.8% from the field while averaging a double double. Cleveland, which has the best net rating in the East, was easily deserving of two All-Stars. And I would have been willing to sacrifice Middleton’s selection for Allen. With Durant’s status in doubt, Allen should still have a great chance to make the team.

Beck: I don’t believe in snubs. There’s only 12 spots, and someone worthy always gets left out. That’s why it’s considered an honor. That said, I would have gone with Jarrett Allen over Middleton. (I might—might – have also gone with LaMelo Ball over Garland, but partly for entertainment purposes.)

Who is the biggest All-Star snub in the West?

Beck: I don’t believe in snubs. There’s only 12 spots, and someone worthy always gets left out. That’s why it’s considered an honor. (Is there an echo in here?) Certainly, some others had a case—Dejounte Murray, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—but it’s no crime that any were left off, especially given their teams’ records.

Pina: Dejounte Murray, who is a triple-double machine (only Nikola Jokić has more) and has a positive impact on all facets of the game while dictating San Antonio’s tempo and overseeing an offense that falls apart when he’s on the bench. He also leads the NBA in steals and ranks fourth in assists.

Mannix: Dejounte Murray leads the Spurs in like 47 categories. With Draymond bowing out, Silver should plug Murray in.

Herring: I racked my brain to come up with a complaint. But I honestly think the West roster looks about the way it should for now. Would love for Dejounte Murray to replace the injured Draymond Green, though Green is a frontcourt player and Murray is a guard.

Nadkarni: Dejounte Murray. And this is all because of Wiggins starting. Draymond Green or Rudy Gobert should have been a starter, and Murray should have Wiggins’s spot. Murray’s rounded averages are 20/9/9, with two steals a night to boot. And he does this with way more attention from opposing defenses than Wiggins. I’m not trying to tear down anyone—Wiggins has had a really good season and his improvement should be applauded. But if we are splitting hairs among the best of the best, then Murray has a better case to be headed to Cleveland.

Lundberg: I don't think there are any snubs, especially since I'd bet Dejounte Murray will be Green's injury replacement. Murray is the most deserving of those who did not make the initial roster.

Moss: Dejounte Murray. He’s averaging 20 PPG. On top of that, he’s second among guards in the league in RPG and fourth in APG. He also has 10 triple-doubles this season. SNUBBED.