Westbrook Reacts To All-Star Snub

Despite the new All-Star voting format, Russell Westbrook was not chosen for a starting spot. The All-Star starters were announced on Thursday night and it’s Steph Curry and James Harden at the guard positions plus Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis in the West frontcourt.

For the East, it’ll be Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler.

Westbrook will take the mantle as the biggest snub in All-Star history, despite still making the team. The rest of the 12-man roster will be selected by the league’s coaches.

“It is what it is,” Westbrook said on Friday. “It’s the nature of the business. I don’t play with my eye on All-Star bids, I play to win championships and every night I compete at a high level.” 

Westbrook leads the NBA in scoring at 30.6 ppg, is second in assists at 10.4 apg and ranks 11th in rebounding at 10.6 rpg. He’s also first in Player Efficiency Rating at 29.5.

The new All-Star voting format included a 50-percent fan vote - where Westbrook finished third among West guards behind Curry and Harden - and 25-percent player and media vote - where he finished first in both. Harden finished second in all votes, leaving Curry and Westbrook tied with each holding 50 percent of the vote. The fan vote was the tiebreaker, sending the Warriors guard to the starting lineup and Westbrook to the bench.