The NBA’s All-Star Replacement System is Laughable
The NBA’s decision to put Mike Conley in the All-Star Game for the injured Devin Booker over other more qualified players is exposing the flaws of the All-Star replacement system
Snubs. It’s the most freely tossed-around word in basketball today. A player who is “snubbed” is someone who failed to be recognized for their achievements with an All-Star selection. That being said, fans often fail to recognize the reason why a player didn’t make a team: The players that made it in are simply better.
In the case of Suns guard Devin Booker, many said he was criminally snubbed. In reality, the only guard in the west who is arguably worse than Booker is Donovan Mitchell, but it’s close. Personally, I’d give the edge to Mitchell. Saying that Booker was robbed is a disservice to the fantastic season Mitchell is putting up for the league-leading Jazz. But, if Booker would’ve gotten in over Mitchell, we all know people would complain about that too.
It’s all subjective. This is what the NBA knew they were getting when they gave fans the option to vote on All-Star teams and that’s fine.
Booker was later selected by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace the injured Anthony Davis at the All-Star Game and the talk around his snubbing cooled off permanently. The huge implication around this though is that in the future, Booker’s 2021 season will be recorded with an All-Star appearance. This doesn’t seem so significant because he had an All-Star-level season, but it’s a huge implication considering who just got selected to replace Booker — Mike Conley.
Conley, a 14-year vet in the NBA, has always been a quality starting PG. But he never had an All-Star season. In fact, he just became the oldest NBA player to ever make their first All-Star Game with this appearance.
So, what’s the issue?
My earlier point is emphasized by this move. In a season where Conley is the 3rd leading scorer on his own team, as he is playing the more traditional pass-first PG role, he makes the All-Star game. In a year where he isn’t even playing the best ball of his solid career, he gets in. There’s no asterisk saying he’s a replacement next to it in the record book, just another All-Star appearance.
He is averaging a solid 16 points and nearly 6 assists on 42% shooting from 3. He’s having the typical efficient Mike Conley season, but the difference is he got an All-Star appearance. Where this truly bubbles into an issue is when you compare him to the other guys who were eligible to replace Booker.
Western Conference guards like De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ja Morant, and DeMar DeRozan are enjoying better seasons as the respective first options for their teams. All those guys are averaging over 19 points per game and over 6 assists as well while functioning as first options. Conley operates as a fantastic piece in Quin Snyder’s team-focused system, but as an individual player (which is the criteria for All-Star players), Conley doesn’t have what it takes.
While yes, none of these guys are on a top team like Conley’s Jazz, they are all more valuable to their squads. Ja Morant’s Grizzlies are fighting for a playoff spot in a stacked Western Conference thanks in most part to his efforts as scorer and playmaker. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s depleted Thunder squad is also closer to .500 than many expected and Gilgeous-Alexander is enjoying a career year in the process while DeMar DeRozan has his aging Spurs in the thick of things in the competitive Western Conference playoff field.
These guys don’t have the success of the Jazz, but they don’t have the coaching or personnel either. They deserve to be recognized for pushing their teams to compete through individual prowess without any semblance of championship rosters. Winning is a requirement for MVP and Coach of the Year, not All-Star appearances. We learned that best when Trae Young deservedly made an All-Star team as a starter last season on a desolate Hawks team.
Snubbing these guys also has a profound impact on their careers. For younger players like Gilgeous-Alexander, Morant, and Fox, they are all missing out on what would be their first All-Star appearance. For DeRozan, as a guy who has fallen out of favor with NBA fans, another All-Star appearance would do wonders in improving his rep. He is enjoying a career renaissance as a bona fide play-initiator for the Spurs right now, and that deserves recognition.
All in all, this isn’t to slander a guy like Mike Conley. He’s arguably the most likable player in the league. He’s never disrespectful, he always shows fantastic sportsmanship and has never received even a technical foul in his 14 seasons in the league.
This is a PSA against the NBA’s replacement system. I understand that this may be one of the last chances to get Conley into the All-Star game, but if All-Star selections are becoming more of a formality than a recognition of talent in the NBA, we are going down a dangerous path. Reserve this kind of treatment for the Dwayne Wade’s, the Michael Jordan’s, the Dirk Nowitzki’s, and the Kobe Bryant’s of the league who changed the fabric of the game forever.
In the case of an injury to an All-Star, the league should spend more time and effort deciding a replacement. The game is just a few days away and I understand the logistical issues that would pose, but the importance of getting these selections right is something that is being lost every time deserving players miss the event.
