You’ve turned the All Star game into “Ballers in Tiaras.” I’m sorry, I just had to do that.
The NBA is letting your voice be heard, and you’re singing a tune worse than some of the contestants in the American Idol prelims. The element of fan voting is cute on the surface, but it undercuts the entire purpose of having an All Star team in the first place.
Being an All Star is a testament; proof that you were the very best that the league had to offer (albeit during only a portion of the season, but you get the point). Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a popularity contest. The only subjective voice that should be heard when considering what players should fill an All Star roster should be the coach of each respective team.
You know, the guy who’s paid millions of dollars to evaluate talent professionally. Not Gary, the guy from ComEd reading your meter who has an affinity for Allen Iverson.
Side bar: remember that time in 2010 when you guys almost voted him to be an All Star starter while he barely averaged 12 points a game and missed 64 games? And remember who you almost voted in beside him in the backcourt? Tracy McGrady. Not the 360 windmill dunking version, the averaging nine points per game version. Yeah, seems legit.
The idea that that was even a possibility removes any and all credibility from fan voting.
Outside of the 10 year old who votes for his favorite player tirelessly in hopes of seeing his name in lights, nobody else should be proud of the fact that they can vote for undeserving players on Twitter until their thumbs fall off. Go do something productive.
Seriously, do you guys get excited when you see Kobe Bryant in the All Star game for the 1000th time? Do you turn to your buddy and say, “see, he’s there because I voted for him!”? I would hope not, but that’s essentially the scenario you’ve set up until Kobe got injured.
Thanks to you, we were nearly in a world where the top two shooting guards currently walking this planet, Klay Thompson or James Harden, would be on the outside of the starting lineup looking in come All Star weekend.
In fact, we ARE in a world where no player from a team on a 17-game win streak will get a starting nod. I don’t like that world.
You do realize that no matter who is on the floor, the game is meaningless, right? What’s at stake here is the TITLE of being an All Star, not to play in the game.
Case in point: name me the first unforgettable moment you can think of from an NBA All Star Game.
…Oh right, you can’t.
Instead of the league taking the approach that All Star Weekend is more for the fans and setting up “dream matchups” that never, ever, EVER reach up to their potential, it should realize it’s more for the players.
So, dear reader, I have a proposal that keeps the fans involved while preserving the meaning of the being an All Star. Leave the selections up to a panel of top coaches in the league. Each conference gets to pick 10-12 players, but nobody actually plays. Better yet, leave those selections to be made after the regular season is over, kind of like they already do with the All Pro Teams. This way, you get to honor for the players for an 82-game body of work, and you avoid the injury risk that everyone is inherently scared of during a meaningless scrimage.
Where does the fan involvement come in, you ask? Way ahead of you: open up voting for all of the skills competitions. THOSE are the things people actually tune in to watch during All Star Weekend. The Dunk Contest? The Three Point Shootout? You bet people will want to see their favorites in that setting. It’ll help end vicious barbershop debates across this great nation.
But unless you can wise up and take the name on the back of the jersey out of the voting equation, I don’t think you should have the right to vote. There, I said it. Un-American? Maybe. Logical? You bet.