Demar DeRozan should be voted into the NBA All Star Game this year.Yes, that is the homer in me advocating, but even the most ardent Spurs cynics can’t deny the type of season the four-time All Star is having this year. DeRozan is the leading scorer (19.8 points) for a Spurs team that sits in sixth place (at 16-11) in the always loaded Western Conference. He also leads the team in assists with 6.9 per dish.
DeRozan’s assists average this year are the highest of his career.
If cynics, or “haters” as I prefer to call them, can justify why DeRozan shouldn’t obtain his fifth All Star nod, then they better have plenty evidence to support why Bradley Beal, who is on a Washington Wizards team that is second to last place in the Eastern Conference, deserves to be in the All Star Game (which a scheduled date has not been set for as of press time,) as he currently is the leading vote getter for guards in his conference (2,528,719). Or why Andrew friggin’ Wiggins (who currently ranks seventh in votes for forwards in the Western Conference) should be in the game, despite being the second leading scorer on a Golden State Warriors team that ranks eighth in the West. Also, please tell me why the following players should be in the All Star Game, despite being on losing teams: Christian Wood, Colin Sexton, Russell Westbrook (who are all in the top 10 in All Star votes for their respective positions.)
Don’t give me past accolades, highlight reel plays, or their shoe designs. All that doesn’t matter; what truly matters are the results the players are producing this year.
To command a squad that was projected to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year to a winning record so far is impressive. Making the feat more grand is that the DeRozan-led squad is the 15th youngest team in the NBA, according to the Hispanos NBA website, with an average age of 25 years.
While the Spurs may still not make the playoffs this year, All Star Game selections are not contingent upon which players are on teams projected to make the tournament. Rather, it is about the players who are producing for their teams and putting them in the playoff mix.
And with the Spurs’ winning record, there is no reason why DeRozan shouldn’t be selected to compete in the All Star Game.
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