Every year there are All-Star snubs. It’s bound to happen. There are plenty of deserving players that don’t get a spot. The biggest snubs this year in my opinion were Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan. Both are very deserving of a spot based on their play this year.
(Note: I am not going to write about my reaction to the actual All-Stars because I mostly agree, and I wouldn’t have much to say on the subject.)
So, because my favorite player got snubbed from the All-Star game, I’m creating my own All-Star game. It’s name? (get ready)
The Bench Mob Blog All-Stars
(Yup, I know, super creative)
See, I didn’t want to call it the Snub game or something because the whole point of this game is that these players are All-Stars, and shouldn’t be snubs. So why would I call them snubs?
So, for the BMB All-Star teams, there are two. The West and the East. For each team, there are ten spots. The starters are made up of two guards and three frontcourt players. The bench is made up of a guard, a frontcourt player, a wild card, a sixth man, and a fan favorite.
So, I’m just gonna get straight into the teams!
(Wait, one more note: I’m not saying all of these guys should be All-Stars, because it wouldn’t make sense if Fred VanVleet was an All-Star over James Harden. I’m just recognizing these guys for the good seasons they are having.)
Eastern Conference Starters
Guards: Trae Young and Collin Sexton
Trae Young is averaging 27 points and 10 assists this year. He wasn’t an All-Star because he had a bad stretch earlier in the year, and the Hawks have been disappointing. Collin Sexton has improved a lot this season, and is really putting himself on the radar of casual fans. He’s averaging 24 points, and has also been an excellent closer for Cleveland.
Frontcourt: Tobias Harris, Domantas Sabonis (Captain), Bam Adebayo
Tobias Harris is quietly having his best season, putting up career numbers on a really good 76ers team. His efficiency is really high this year, shooting really close to 50/40/90 (89% on free throws). Domatnas Sabonis is putting up similar numbers to Julius Randle (besides three point percentage), as they are both averaging around 20/10/5. That spot in the game really could have gone either way. Sabonis is underappreciated. Bam Adebayo has improved again, improving on his scoring, efficiency, steals, and assists. His missing of the game can be attributed to the Heat’s slow start.
Eastern Conference Bench
Guard: Fred VanVleet
VanVleet has probably been Toronto’s best player this year. They were one of the worst teams in the league to start of the year, and have now climbed back to a 500 record. Freddy has been a large part of that. VanVleet could be an All-Star in the future though, because he improves every year.
Forward: Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton is having his best season ever, and he isn’t an All-Star. The Bucks aren’t at the top of the conference, and people continue to sleep on Middleton. He’s highly efficient, a good defender, and a great shot creator. He’s an All-Star player, whether he makes the game or not.
Wild Card: Malcolm Brogdon
Brogdon is another guy quietly having a career year. He’s averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and has been Indiana’s closer this season. Although his efficiency has fallen off since his 50/40/90 season, his volume has significantly increased. Malcolm Brogdon is really good. I wish the Bucks would have kept him.
Sixth Man: Terrence Ross
Sixth men deserve some recognition. So in my BMB All-Star game, there is a special slot for the best sixth man in each conference. It’s been Terrence Ross for the East this year. For the injury-ridden Magic, he (and Nikola Vucevic, of course) has been a huge part of keeping them afloat. He’s been a bench All-Star, so he’s making the BMB All-Star squad.
Fan Favorite: Tacko Fall
There’s always players that end up in the All-Star voting that are total meme votes. Guys like Alex Caruso and Tacko Fall are those guys. So, why not actually give those guys their chance to shine. Tacko Fall is getting the Fan Favorite slot in the East
Western Conference Starters
Guards: De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
De’Aaron Fox is really good. As of right now, he’s better than Ja Morant. It’s really close, but that’s my opinion. He’s carried my fantasy team to multiple comebacks. His averages of 22 points and 7 assists are definitely BMB All-Star worthy. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a big part of the Thunder being better than the worst team in the league. He will be an All-Star one day, and his averages of 24, 5, and 6 at only 22 years old reflect that.
Frontcourt: DeMar DeRozan (Captain), Brandon Ingram, Christian Wood
DeMar DeRozan is the biggest snub this year. The Spurs have the 9th best record in the NBA, and everyone thought they would suck before the season started. He’s averaging 20, 5, and 7. He’s a closer. He’s a mentor for Keldon Johnson (who will be an All-Star type guy one day). DeMar is an All-Star. Brandon Ingram is also an All-Star, but a surprisingly not good Pelicans record led to him not making the actual game (although Zion did. DeMar>Zion for the game this year). Christian Wood is injured right now, but the West doesn’t have as many All-Star type frontcourt players. Wood will be an All-Star one day as well. He is averaging 22 and 10 this year.
Western Conference Bench
Guard: Ja Morant
Ja Morant is having a great season. It’s super impressive that he was able to get drafted and lead a team to a decent record in a deep conference in his rookie year. He’s doing it again, without his second best player this time. That’s even more impressive. His averages of 19 points and 8 assists are worth a spot in the BMB All-Star game.
Forward: Deandre Ayton
Like I mentioned earlier, the list of All-Star worthy frontcourt players in the West is much shorter than the All-Star worthy guards. But since conference selections are a thing, I can’t give this spot to Jerami Grant. But that’s ok, Deandre Ayton is good. So he is a 2021 BMB All-Star.
Wild Card: Jamal Murray
Jamal Murray has been underperforming in my opinion, compared the expectations he has after the bubble. But he has still been good, especially as of late. So he gets the Wild Card spot in the West over John Wall.
Sixth Man: Jordan Clarkson
Sixth Man of the Year so far is Jordan Clarkson. Charles Barkley actually picked him to be an All-Star (mostly because of the Jazz’s success, likely). He’s averaging 18 points this year. He’s shooting pretty well on high volume. He’s only missed two free throws, and leads the league in FT%. Clarkson is the MVP of the bench this year.
Fan Favorite: Boban Marjanovic
Who doesn’t love this man. He’s so wholesome. Boban has to be the most widely loved player in the entire NBA. So he definitely deserves the fan favorite spot in the West.
So those are the participants of the 2021 BMB All-Star Game! This will probably become an annual tradition, and will last as long as this blog does. Do you think I snubbed anybody from the All-Snub teams? Let me know! Thanks for reading!
The Bench Mob Blog 