The NBA announced the starters for each conference in this year’s NBA All-Star Game set to be played in Utah on February 19th.
For the Western Conference, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers will be the West’s captain for the sixth straight season. Joining The King in representing the West are Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, and Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
On the other side, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will captain the ship of the Eastern Conference. Antetokounmpo will be joined by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As you’ll notice, the East doesn’t have a center among its starters. While Antetokounmpo can play that position, it’s interesting to see why the fans, the media, and the players decided to eschew a traditional center. Particularly one having the season that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is.
Why Should Embiid Be a Starter?
Granted, the NBA All-Star Game is for the fans and who they want to see play.Fan voting is far from an exact science and tends to overlook deserving players who may not be media darlings.
Last year, deserving as he may have been, Andrew Wiggins received more votes than the likes of Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Donovan Mitchell who was then still a member of the Utah Jazz.
With Embiid leading the way, Philly owns the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 31-16. The Sixers are winners of their past six games. And Embiid is putting up MVP numbers.
In fact, due in large part to an ankle injury suffered in the 1st quarter of his team’s game vs. Phoenix, Luka Doncic has now actually been passed for the league scoring title race by Embiid and his 33.4pts per night.
In addition to his prodigious scoring totals, the third pick in the 2014 NBA Draft is averaging 9.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 53.2% field goal shooting. He’s also a 34.5% shooter from the three-point line.
While there’s still a chance for Embiid to get a starting nod as a potential injury replacement for Kevin Durant who will likely sit out the game, the fact that Embiid gets little appreciation from the fans and media is a reflection on how little the “traditional centre” role is valued in 2023.
Can you imagine where Philadelphia would be without Embiid and his MVP-worthy numbers? One way or another, Joel Embiid has proven time and again he’s an All-Star calibre player and is more than worthy of a spot in the All-Star starting line-up.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.