Phoenix Suns’ franchise star Devin Booker looks every part of an NBA All-Star, yet he wasn’t selected to participate in this season’s All-Star game.
There are so many good players in the NBA. Whenever the league’s All-Star game comes around there are bound to be worthy players that don’t receive the honor of being selected to the game. That holds true for this season’s All-Star game as well. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns is one of the biggest All-Star snubs of this season. As I have written in the past, if All-Stars were picked based on who are the best of the best, then Booker would be in. However, that isn’t the case this season which is a real shame.
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The following Western Conference guards where chosen ahead of Booker for this year’s All-Star game: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson. It makes sense that most of these players were chosen instead of Booker, except for one. The case can be made that Booker should have been selected over Thompson for an All-Star spot.
From a statistical standpoint Booker has a slight edge over Thompson.
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devin Booker | 2017-18 | 21 | 38 | 38 | 34.2 | .435 | .376 | .468 | .503 | .891 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 24.8 |
| 2 | Klay Thompson | 2017-18 | 27 | 47 | 47 | 34.3 | .485 | .449 | .514 | .585 | .870 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 20.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/25/2018.
Thompson’s edge in shooting percentage is partially predicated on the fact that he gets easier shots playing with Curry and Kevin Durant. Booker would definitely have similar shooting numbers if he played with two future Hall of Famers like Durant and Curry. To put it simply, Booker has done more with less and has been asked to do more than Thompson this season. Booker is clearly the best player on his team where as Thompson is arguably the fourth best on Golden State Warriors behind Durant, Curry and Draymond Green.
This isn’t to say that Thompson is some scrub, he’s an elite shooter in this generation and should be honored accordingly. However, the Warriors already have three All-Stars this season with Green, Curry and Durant. The Warriors are well represented by having those three and giving Booker recognition makes sense based on the great year he has had. The biggest knock that Booker has is the poor play of the Suns this season, but voters shouldn’t hold that against him. He’s done everything possible to keep the Suns’ a float this season.
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Fans may not know why voters didn’t choose Booker, but the most logical reason is because the Phoenix Suns’ aren’t a winning team this season. Booker has the the stats to make it as an All-Star and the Suns’ record shouldn’t infringe on his personal success. Hopefully, this puts a chip on his shoulder to help the Suns to become better in the future.