For every NBA superstar who is selected to participate in the All-Star game, there is a player who believes that he got snubbed.
To be fair, some of them have the right to feel disrespected by the head coaches who picked the reserves for the annual midseason exhibition. On the flip side, there were those who simply didn't make the cut after failing the unofficial criteria: individual greatness, team success, star power.
What set these All-Star omissions apart from one another is the way they — and in this case, the people around them — took the bad news. While a few of them channeled their frustration into the boxscore, others showed off some very poor sportsmanship.
HOW TO REACT
Bradley Beal: vs CHA 34 pts 9 reb 9 ast 1 blk | vs BKN 34 pts 6 reb 3 stl 3 blk | vs GSW 43 pts 3 3pt 6 ast 2 stl
Following his near triple-double against the Hornets, the Washington Wizards guard told NBC Sports Wizards, "I'm a little pissed off about [the snub]... I was kind of expecting it, honestly. It's disrespectful." Beal went on to destroy the Nets and Warriors, as he climbed to fourth in scoring with 29.3 points per game. It sucks that the Wiz (17-32, 10th in East) suck, which doomed the two-time All-Star's chances.
Karl-Anthony Towns: vs LAC 32 pts 12 reb 1 blk | vs SAC 22 pts 3 3pt 10 reb 6 ast 1 stl 2 blk
Despite missing 17 games this season, Towns has been putting up career-highs across the board (27 points, 4.2 assists, 3.3 three-pointers per game). Just like Beal, the Minnesota Timberwolves center has been a good player on a bad team (14-34, 14 in West, 12-game losing streak). Speaking to the Star Tribune, he said, "I'm worried about our team, about getting Ws. I'm desensitized to being disrespected in this league."
HOW NOT TO REACT
Suns GM James Jones
The three-time NBA champion sure knows how to coexist with superstars, being "the greatest teammate (LeBron James has) ever had." Granted that Jones was just making a case for his best player Devin Booker (career-high 27.2 points per game, 51.1 percent field goal, 91.9 percent free throw), a general manager should focus more on adding complementary pieces to Phoenix (20-30, 12th in West).
Beal’s fiancée Kamiah Adams
As this tweet proves, behind every All-Star snub is a woman who got her man's back. Beal's significant other took to the Wizards postgame show to express her disappointment: "It’s politics and it’s a joke. The NBA is becoming laughable in my honest opinion." Adams then took her pettiness to another level by describing East starter and Hawks guard Trae Young's style of play as "cherry-picking basketball."
Even the Rising Stars game between rookies and sophomores — Team USA and Team World — wasn't spared from controversy stemming from who made the cut and who didn't:
HOW TO REACT
Collin Sexton: vs GSW 24 pts 3 3pt 4 ast 3 stl | vs NYK 29 pts 3 3pt 7 ast
Terence Davis: vs CHI 31 pts 6 3pt 80 fg% 4 reb
Sexton (career-high 19.7 points per game) has proven that a Cleveland backcourt with him and first-year Darius Garland can be effective, while the undrafted Davis exploded for his first 30-point game as an integral part of the Toronto bench. A year ago, the Cavs guard was being called out by his veterans for not "know(ing) how to play." Meanwhile, the Raps shooter has stepped up for his injury-riddled squad.
HOW NOT TO REACT
Matisse Thybulle(’s agent): vs BOS 8 pts 2 3pt 0 stl 0 blk | vs MIA 3 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 blk
Jaxson Hayes: vs HOU 2 pts 2 reb
Two promising freshmen. Two players with significant minutes for their respective teams. One (Thybulle) has been a terror on the defensive end, but couldn't control his agent from giving an NSFW piece of the latter's mind. Another (Hayes) has shown serious flashes of his serious athletic ability, but couldn't keep his emotions in check — only to take his expletive-laden video back.
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