The Sacramento Kings deserved an All-Star | The Athletic NBA Show

The Sacramento Kings deserved an All-Star | The Athletic NBA Show

Uh Al let’s dip back into International NBA All-Star snub day I want to highlight the Sacramento Kings 27 and 19 fifth in the west they have a great podcast that covers them the and mop pod go check that out it’s great they did not get an

Allar all the teams in the top eight of the Eastern Conference got an All-Star all the teams the only teams in the West in the top nine that didn’t get an All-Star are the Kings and the Pelicans and you take look at the Pelicans and they’ve got like Brandon Ingram is

Probably the one that you’d argue the most who has played played in 44 games but he’s like 21 five and five you can say like okay like I get like who would you take off of there like his numbers are not quite as good as Carl Anthony

Town’s numbers and so it’s like okay fine Zion Williamson Zion Williamson’s actually played 38 games this season only one less than Devon Booker but like the stats really aren’t there with him either with 22 five and four it’s like okay I get it but the Kings you look at

The numbers and you’re like what some of the numbers are insane domas sabonis in the month of January was 2014 and9 he is first in total rebounds in the league and he is sixth in total assists this season he’s had an unbelievable year he has more assists than the following players Harden LeBron

Lillard Brunson Shay Booker Giannis Maxi Austin Reeves more assists than all of those guys he’s had a really really great year so far and Darren Fox too Darren fox has been better you know Darren fox has hit more threes this season than he did already than he did

Of all of last season in his career he’s already at a career high through half for for threes made in a season he’s there already and we’re only halfway through the season shout out DUS Mo for that stat I I don’t understand giving so many teams two Allstars the Suns Lakers

Wolves and Clippers all got two and you can’t give the Kings one and so and and now it becomes like okay great we’ve established the Kings deserved an All-Star who doesn’t make it and the team I turn to like to me if you’re going to get two Allstars you have to

Your team has to earn it may maybe you disagree with this but I think your team has to earn it so I just don’t think the Lakers deserve two Allstars well who are you taking off then Andrew who you taking off well I mean I think you take I think Anthony

Davis has had an amazing season but just Legacy wise you’re not taking LeBron off so well Andrew you wanted to pick Anthony Davis for a half season a defensive player of the year last week and now you’re kicking him off the allstar team you know what speaking out of both

Sides of my mouth here Al and I am I’m taking them off I’m putting domos sa bonus there because I just I think you need to reward winning and they that happened in the Eastern Conference like every single team in the top eight got at least one Allstar yeah and in the

West it’s these like big Power names that that got you know that that became Allstars and I get like I get it I get why I mean you look at Devon and Kevin Durant’s numbers and it’s like can you really say that you can’t you know have

Both those guys in the All-Star Game I totally get it but I think what domas has done like he he’s had an I mean he was an All-Star last year he was all NBA last year like he’s got these accolades that are supposed to like kind of help Propel you

To make more All-Star games and like for whatever reason it just didn’t happen this year that and it’s the coaches that didn’t vote him in and it’s to to me it’s it’s a little bit crazy because he has had an Allstar type of year and it may all be moot you know

Here in a couple weeks when guys are not going to play in the game and you know guys get called up I’m sure that domos is going to be one of the first guys called up you know to be in this game but like if you’re like the Wolves probably earned

Two like I know a lot of people would say like towns will be the first one you take off I I actually think the Wolves needed two they’re at the top of the West conference they’ve earned it Phoenix like I said like Phoenix has been really good lately great give them

To the Clippers have been amazing give them two but it’s the lake like the Lakers haven’t earned two Allstars they they have two great players who have been good they won the inseason tournament very cool but the rest of their season has been strange like the the thing you think about the

Lakers right now is just like emojis don’t they didn’t deserve to allst Stars give the Kings an All-Star this is that to me that was just garbage that they did not get an All-Star uh yeah I mean I I I would agree I don’t know if I would have taken

Off Anthony Davis because I don’t like making it too much about team success I mean I get that you wouldn’t want it like you wouldn’t want to pick uh Kade Cunningham let’s say Kade Cunningham was having a great year but they had their exact same record he wouldn’t want a

Player like that on a team that bad to be in the allstar game but like if OKC had won that game against Minnesota uh last week or this week I guess it was on Monday like they would have been the number one seed I wouldn’t have felt like they needed two Allstars

Like the West is just absolutely loaded and so if I was going to take someone off it would be Carl Anthony towns and I I would be putting a king there I will say you know Deen Fox he did have a quote that he would love to not go

Because he just wanted to stay home and do do something else Fox there fox has had like a better shooting season but I don’t know that he’s had like a better overall season yeah yeah yeah I just I just think dismissing sabonis is really wrong like

It’s it’s for I don’t know what the reason was that he didn’t make it and I’m sure that he was like just there on the edge but to me I I just I feel it feels weird giving a 500 team to Allstars that’s all it it does but I I just think that

This is the makeup of the Western Conference like once KD got traded from the East to the West yeah you already have LeBron moving from east to west a few years ago there are certain guys in this league that are just going to be locked into the allstar no matter what

As long as they’re healthy kawai’s that way too and kawhai moved from east to west like you had this huge transition over these last five years of all these all these Superstars moving from the East to the west and so I think this is just like the inevitable conclusion to

That because you go to the Eastern Conference and like you could find some names like if if this was in the East you would probably feel pretty good about saying like oh yeah I could see sabonis making it over Pao or I could see sabonis making yeah the East is a

Totally different conversation the it’s it’s much easier to make the All-Star team in the East it just is and the funny thing is they’re definitely gonna get to more Allstars probably because will be out and Julius Rand will be out yeah for sure yeah so someone like a

Scotty Barnes or Trey young like yeah Trey Young’s probably gonna make it there’s seven games below 500 but you know that’s the East and like I I get it the West is insane I get it but I I do think that like being top five that’s

Why that’s why like being top five in the western conferences it’s even harder to do yeah yeah you don’t get an it’s Jamal Murray is legitimately probably never going to make an All-Star game it’s going to be so hard for him to do it he’s on The Snug list but I can’t

Make like as strong of an argument for him yeah he would need like uh Lebron signing somewhere else this summer like that would take away one spot like yeah you would need like big names moving off of the team because there’s just no spots no and and he he frankly just

Hasn’t had an All-Star level season that’s just been like even though he’s been really good and the nuggets have been really good like he’s good like he’s a really good player but when you look at all the other guards I mean you can’t argue him over Devin Booker you

Know no I also think this is a function of the offens of explosion there’s going to be more Allstar worthy candidates nowadays than there would have been 10 years ago I mean there used to be some goofy Allstars like guys who would get in as the last guy much some of that was

Because of position too that you had to include you have like Chris Cayman and Jamal mcore and Chris Cay yeah allar game he made an all he did forgot about that until right this moment yeah that was special that was special well I’m sorry Andrew but I feel like uh if there

Is going to be a replacement and it’s not sabonis then you can come back on and get really mad but I so raging mad when whenever it’s like go bear or somebody that gets it’ll be shenon and you’ll you’ll you’ll be blowing smoke out of your ears

The Athletic NBA Show discuss NBA All-Star snubs.