The NBA All Star Reserves Are Out And The Sacramento Kings Got Absolutely Hosed

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Given that the All Star starters are mostly no-brainers in addition to the fan popular vote, the real intrigue around the rosters comes when you start going through the reserves, especially the final few spots. Every year we see a handful of guys seem to get snubbed, and this year is certainly no different. I would argue that there has never been a deeper field than there is in today's NBA when it comes to guys having All Star quality seasons. It brings up an interesting debate in terms of what should you value? Team success? Individual stats? Do you reward the best teams with multiple guys if it means snubbing another?

Here were our answers for the 2023-24 season. Let's start with the West.

Here's the problem with how things look in the Western Conference right now. There really hasn't been any separation from the top 4 seeds, which means when it comes to the whole "reward the best team with multiple players" idea, it's tricky to know who to pick. Everyone is within 1-2 games of each other, and when you have a team like the Clippers who are technically in 3rd but have been on an absolute tear at the moment. Even a team like the Suns who is 28-20 have been playing great basketball as of late, and all that stuff matters during the recent voting period.

If you look at this list, it's not crazy to see that both Kawhi and George made it, AD is having an All Star caliber year, and Devin Booker is putting up 28 a game on a team that when healthy, has been good. You're not going to not have Steph Curry, regardless of how the Warriors look. So by the time you get to the bottom of the list, you see that the current #1 seed in the West only has 1 guy. Usually, when you're the best team in your conference and you have multiple guys with the production to make a case, they usually get the nod. That's how KAT gets in.

What that meant, was that the Kings got royally fucked. At 27-19, they have a better record than the Suns (2 All Stars), Lakers (2 All Stars), Mavs (1 All Star, and Warriors (1 All Star). If rewarding success is part of the formula, well then where is the Kings' reward for being the 5 seed? It's not like they didn't have players worthy of selection either given the fact that De'Aaron Fox is averaging 27.2/4.1/5.5 and Sabonis 19.9/13.0/8.0. Unfortunately, they were just the victim of circumstance. Maybe you think one of those two should have been in over KAT or something like that, but I guess tie goes to the #1 team.

In the East, things are a little different

It's not all that surprising that the Celts got 2, the Knicks getting 2 makes sense, Donovan and Maxey are what I would consider no brainer reserves, Paolo has the numbers and the surprise team success to where you can see it, and Bam has certainly been here before.

Now compared to the West, when you're talking about snubs in the East you have to keep in mind that this is a list that is going to be filled with injury replacements. Joel Embiid tore his meniscus, so that's 1 replacement. Julius Randle dislocated his shoulder, so that's 2. 

The biggest "snub" in terms of a name you don't see is clearly Trae Young. With 25.6/10.9 averages, the individual production is certainly All Star worthy. The problem there of course is the fact that his team stinks. I'm talking 20-27 level stink. I don't see the harm in rewarding winning with the initial list, the same way I don't have a problem rewarded Trae's individual success with being one of the injury replacements. 

Who gets Embiid's spot is anyone's guess. Myles Turner? Porzingis? Derrick White? Scottie Barnes? All have their own unique case.

To me, the only real issue I see this year is not having a single King. That's a little messed up, but does show you how competitive the West actually is. It's loaded. Even the "bad" teams have All Star starters/Steph Curry, which crunches the list even more. 

Still sucks for Fox/Sabonis though.