Two Sacramento Kings stars were kept from being crowned 2024 NBA All-Stars.
De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are each having one of their best NBA seasons on a Sacramento Kings squad that has the fifth-best record (27-19) in the Western Conference. Fox is one of the NBA’s top scorers, averaging a career-best 27.2 points per game as well as 5.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Sabonis is averaging 19.9 points, a league-best 13 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game (seventh-best in the NBA).
Sabonis has the most double-doubles (42) through a team’s first 46 games of a season since Moses Malone (45) during the 1982-83 season, while Fox is the first player to not be named to an All-Star team while averaging 27.0 points and 5.0 assists per game on an above-.500 team. But that wasn’t enough for the West coaches to choose either Kings player as a West All-Star reserve, even as the Los Angeles Lakers placed two players on the West All-Star roster in starter LeBron James and reserve Anthony Davis despite having a losing record (24-25) entering Thursday.
“It’s clear to anyone who watches the NBA and Kings basketball that De’Aaron and Domantas should have been selected for this year’s All-Star game,” Kings coach Mike Brown told Andscape. “They are playing at an unbelievably elite level, Domantas establishing historic numbers with his double-doubles and De’Aaron setting a new career mark for 3-point field goals. Every year, there are deserving players left off the team but, to me, this is truly a glaring wrongdoing.”
Twenty-four players will compete in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18 at in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. NBA fans, media and players selected the starters Jan. 25, and the reserves for both conferences, as selected by the respective conference coaches, were revealed Thursday. Once again, Andscape presents its annual NBA All-Snub team, our squad of the most deserving players who didn’t make the cut like Gobert and Towns.
Rudy Gobert, center, Minnesota Timberwolves
Emphasis was definitely put on offense on this team as Gobert, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, was snubbed. Gobert is second in the NBA in rebounding (12.4 per game) and eighth in blocks per game (2.1).
Brandon Ingram, forward, New Orleans Pelicans
Ingram (21.5 ppg) is the second-leading scorer to Zion Williamson by 0.5 points, but Williamson has missed 20 games this season. Considering Williamson’s absence, Ingram should have been rewarded for leading the Pels to the seventh-best record in the West so far.
Lauri Markkanen, forward, Utah Jazz
Lauri Markkanen (averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists) fails to be named an All-Star for the second season in a row. While the Jazz have played much stronger of late, they are barely in the mix for the play-in tournament, which probably hurt Markkanen’s candidacy.
Jamal Murray, guard, Denver Nuggets
The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets were certainly worthy of having two All-Stars in guard Jamal Murray and two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. Murray’s biggest challenge in recent years has…
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