The biggest snubs from the All-Star Reserves selection

02/01/2025 05:33 PM

Victor Wembanyama made it, but other arguably deserving candidates didn't.

Victor Wembanyama made it to the All-Star game and should be part of the festivities for a long time. Is there anyone else on the current roster who can join him there in the next three years?

Marilyn Dubinski: There's always a chance, but the odds seem relatively slim at this point. Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan seem like the two players with the most potential to have a "breakout" season where they either wow the fans or coaches enough to get that one-time vote or slip in as an injury replacement (like Dejounte Murray in 2022), but a few things will have to happen. One is it often requires being an upper seed to get two All-Stars, so the team has to improve as a whole. On an individual level, Vassell will have to find more consistency on offense, Jeremy will have to find more offense in general because defensive specialists just don't make the All-Star team, and finally, both will need to be more consistently healthy (and the coaches have shown they will leave unhealthy players off).

Mark Barrington: Vassell is a guy I'd like to see getting to that level, but his play has been pretty underwhelming so far this season. He's going to have to improve his consistency and make some noise with his scoring for the voters to notice, and he'll have to really pick up his game to get there. Sochan has the talent to be considered, but he's not dynamic on offense to be on anyone's radar yet. If he suddenly becomes a 40% three-point shooter, then he's a real possibility, but that seems about as likely as my cat suddenly learning how to do calculus.

Jesus Gomez: Probably not. The funny thing about the Spurs is that they are a young team, but they are not that young. The only guys 23 or under other than Wemby are Sochan, Blake Wesley, Malaki Branham, Stephon Castle and Sidy Cissoko. Sochan will never have All-Star numbers even if he eventually has the value of one. Castle could get there but is currently averaging pedestrian numbers that are not even separating him from the other members of a bad rookie class. There's a good chance that Branham, Cissoko and Welsey will be out of the league in three years. The best bet is probably Vassell, who should have the numbers to get picked if the Spurs are elite, but he's not a sure thing because of injuries. San Antonio has a talented and fun roster but outside of Wemby, there are no stars at this point.

Who was the biggest snub in the West?

Dubinski: As I said in a previous ITB, someone from Texas would get snubbed. I thought it would be Alperen Sengun, but he made it, so my Texas snub ended up being Kyrie Irving (Luka Doncic is hurt and hasn't played enough). That being said, Domontas Sabonis was probably the biggest snub of all, as a case could be made for him over Sengun, Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr. (The coaches really like big men this year!) I think he's a victim of circumstance, where Davis was another "legacy" pick, and Sengun and JJJ made it in part because their teams are top 3 seeds (28 games for Ja Morant clearly wasn't enough).

Barrington: All the people I thought would be snubbed got in, so it ends up that some of the players who should have been locks got snubbed. That's weird. I'll go along with the crowd and say that Damontas Sabonis should have gone, but I don't know who you'd knock out to put him in. Either Anthony Davis or JJJ, but there are pretty good arguments for them being in the game.

Gomez: I know he might get in as an injury replacement for Anthony Davis, but what does Domantas Sabonis have to do to get in without having to wait for someone else to drop out? He's not a great defender and his team is in play-in territory, but he's one of the best offensive big men in the game and an absolute beast on the boards. The Rockets are better than the Kings but Alperen Sengun has not been better than Sabonis. It seems like the coaches value team success heavily, which makes sense, but at some point leaving out the most prolific rebounder in the game who also happens to be a great scorer and passer becomes a mistake, regardless of circumstances.

Who was the biggest snub in the East?

Dubinski: The fans voted for LaMelo Ball and didn't get him, so he's probably tops on most lists. Since we're seeing a trend of coaches going in part on team performance, I guess they felt he's an empty stat guy on a bad team. (I personally haven't watched him enough to give my opinion.) Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young could also make their own cases, as Maxey has been carrying a 76ers team with a completely disengaged Joel Embiid, and Young has had a bit of a resurgent, "look at me now, haters" season.

Barrington: I'm somewhat shocked that Trae Young isn't there. He's sacrificed some of his flashy play to become more of a team player, and I guess that's a negative if you want to become an All-Star. Maxey is having a great season, and even though I like Cade Cunningham a lot, I don't see how you select him over Maxey.

Gomez: The fans wanted LaMelo Ball. He has the numbers. His team is terrible and so is his efficiency, but he's tailor-made for the All-Star game. Other guys are having arguably better seasons on undoubtedly better teams, but no one is tuning in to see Tyler Herro or 34-year-old Damian Lillard. Who cares about eFG% on an exhibition game? They should have gotten Melo in there because he was deserving and also would have been more fun.