HoopsHype breaks down some of the biggest All-Star snubs for the 2022-23 season.
Just like every other year, it was difficult for the NBA’s fans, coaches and players to come up with just 24 All-Stars.
After the starters for the 2022-23 game – LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic from the West and Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum out of the East – were announced, the league had just 14 more All-Star spots to fill, meaning multiple players were going to be snubbed.
And, of course, that was just the case, as there are simply too many All-Star-level players these days for merely 24 spots.
Regardless, here are the biggest All-Star snubs for the 2022-23 NBA season.
Reporting on trade talks surrounding Kyle Kuzma, John Collins, Jae Crowder, Yuta Watanabe’s 3-Point Contest chances, Dwight Howard and more.
As the calendar turns toward 2023, executives around the league are monitoring the availability of three forwards: Kyle Kuzma, John Collins, and Jae Crowder.
With that in mind, this week’s NBA notebook includes the latest intel on the three-team trade talks between the Hawks, Jazz and Suns, Kuzma, Yuta Watanabe, and G League Ignite draft prospect Leonard Miller from our own Michael Scotto. Plus, the latest trade rumors commentary on Kuzma and Collins, along with a potential Myles Turner extension breakdown, from our capologist Yossi Gozlan, a free agency stock watch from our Frank Urbina, and former NBA player making notable contributions in our international spotlight by Alberto De Roa.
Jazz guard Malik Beasley tells Michael Scotto he wants to win Sixth Man of the Year, be in the 3-Point Contest, and stay in Utah long-term.
When Malik Beasley arrived in Utah as part of the blockbuster Rudy Gobert trade with the Timberwolves, there was a palpable buzz around the league that he could potentially be rerouted to another team, with the Jazz expected to tank for a top draft pick. Neither scenario has come to fruition through nearly a quarter of the regular season and everything is working very well for both sides.
Beasley leads the NBA in three-pointers made off the bench (54) and percentage of points from three-pointers (69.5) while also ranking third in total threes made (60).
In a wide-ranging interview with HopsHype, Beasley explained how Utah has surpassed expectations, why he wants to remain with the Jazz going forward, and what it’s like behind the scenes with coach Will Hardy. Beasley believes he should be a contender for Sixth Man of the Year, the three-point contest at All-Star Weekend, and the Community Assist award. Check out our entire conversation below.
Although this may be obvious to some, a team’s overall record for a regular season is a far better indicator of potential playoff success than having a torrid stretch after the All-Star break, as the larger sample size cannot be ignored. Regardless, …
Although this may be obvious to some, a team’s overall record for a regular season is a far better indicator of potential playoff success than having a torrid stretch after the All-Star break, as the larger sample size cannot be ignored.
Regardless, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the best win-loss records for teams after the All-Star break.
For reference, below the teams’ records after the All-Star break, we added how they did in the playoffs. Spoiler alert: A few of them won titles.
HoopsHype breaks down the biggest All-Star snubs of the 2021-22 season.
Every year when the latest NBA All-Star crop is announced, there are a few snubs that leave fans, media and even players with their heads scratching.
A prime example just last year included Devin Booker, who ended up making it due as an injury replacement but wasn’t originally slated to receive the accolade. He’d go on to help lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals that same year.
HoopsHype takes a different spin on the 2020-21 All-Star Game, taking a look at how the rosters would look if it were USA vs. the World.
The United States has for a long time dominated basketball globally, but taking a look at recent award-winners in the NBA – just look at the MVP for the last two seasons being a Greek-born freak as a prime example and some of the biggest MVP candidates this season being international – among other factors, it’s clear to see the rest of the world has caught up in a big way.
It’s gotten to the point where you have to think about changing the format of the All-Star Game to a USA vs. the Rest of the World matchup because it could be a pretty competitive affair now.
The Rest of the World roster would have issues at backcourt, especially on the bench, but their size and talent up front could even things out. Of course, for the Rest of the World to have a chance they would have to play stylistically a very un-All-Star brand of game with actual bigs dominating down low, more passing and cutting, etc.
Below, we sorted out what the rosters would look like…
HoopsHype takes a different spin on the 2020-21 All-Star Game, taking a look at how the rosters would look if it were USA vs. the World.
The United States has for a long time dominated basketball globally, but taking a look at recent award-winners in the NBA – just look at the MVP for the last two seasons being a Greek-born freak as a prime example and some of the biggest MVP candidates this season being international – among other factors, it’s clear to see the rest of the world has caught up in a big way.
It’s gotten to the point where you have to think about changing the format of the All-Star Game to a USA vs. the Rest of the World matchup because it could be a pretty competitive affair now.
The Rest of the World roster would have issues at backcourt, especially on the bench, but their size and talent up front could even things out. Of course, for the Rest of the World to have a chance they would have to play stylistically a very un-All-Star brand of game with actual bigs dominating down low, more passing and cutting, etc.
Below, we sorted out what the rosters would look like…
The fact that all these players were left off shows us just how much talent is in the NBA right now.
While there is no exact science to an NBA All-Star candidacy, earning a spot among the league’s best players is always a tough challenge.
The 10 starters (five players from each conference) were selected based on weighted voting from fans, current NBA players and a media panel. The reserves (seven players from each conference) were chosen by head coaches around the league.
All-Star captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant will choose their teams from the player pool during the 2021 NBA All-Star Draft on March 4.
Ultimately, however, only 24 players earned the invitation to participate in the game on March 7. Given how many deserved consideration, there are still several others who made a serious case to receive the honor as well.
Below are some of the candidates who did not receive the nod but are still enjoying All-Star caliber campaigns. The fact that all these players were left off shows us just how much incredible talent exists in the NBA right now.
Players like Klay Thompson, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Clarkson fared better in the fan All-Star vote than in the player vote.
For the fifth year in a row, the NBA has disclosed the vote for All-Star starters of fans, media and players. Since we now have the data of where each player ranked in the final results, we decided to look for patterns.
For example, which players do better with fans than with their NBA peers?
Klay Thompson fared way better in the fan vote than in the player vote, which makes some sense this year considering he’s injured and fans can easily cast votes for players they like, not necessarily based on merit.
Other players who did way better with fans than peers are Jordan Clarkson and Kyle Kuzma, one current and one former L.A. Laker who used their time with the league’s biggest brand to build brands of their own.
For more details, you can check the list below. All rankings based on position and conference.
Jaren Jackson Jr. talks to HoopsHype about the Grizzlies’ success, his chemistry with Ja Morant, his upbringing, his development and more.
Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. is just 20, but you’d never know it based on his production or how he carries himself. The sophomore is averaging career-highs across the board including 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 threes and 1.7 blocks. He and Ja Morant have formed a terrific one-two punch in Memphis, which is a big reason why the Grizzlies have the eighth-best record in the Western Conference (despite being projected as bottom-feeders in the preseason).
HoopsHype sat down with Jackson at MTN DEW’s Courtside Studios in Chicago to discuss the Grizzlies’ success, his chemistry with Morant, his upbringing, the All-Star festivities, his development and much more.
You come from a basketball family – your father played in the NBA and your mother was involved on the business side (with the NCAA and now the Women’s National Basketball Players Association). How much has their insight helped you over the years?
Jaren Jackson Jr.: I think the fact that they did those things just added to the level of knowledge that I had in my bank. From a young age, I was given all of the secrets and the ins and outs of this. They didn’t push me into basketball; they let me do it on my own. But they always had the answers, so if I had any questions, I could come to them – with my mom knowing the business side so well and with my dad playing at all three levels.
Like your father, you’re a very good defender. What were some of the biggest lessons that you learned from your father and how did he influence your game?
JJJ: Just his heart for the game and his tenacity. We’re definitely both defensive-minded. You have to be able to shoot and you have to be able to play defense because you don’t want to be a liability out there. At the end of the day, my dad did all of that and he won a ring doing it [with the 1999 San Antonio Spurs]. I can take so much away from him.
I know your family used to call you “String Bean” before your huge growth spurt.
JJJ: Ha, yeah!
When did you hit your growth spurt and take that next step as a player?
JJJ: I probably hit my growth spurt during freshman year or toward the end of freshman year. It was probably because, I don’t know, I was eating a lot of broccoli or something (laughs). Then, I just grew. I was about 6-foot-5 and then I became 6-foot-10 real quick, so I had to figure out how not to trip over myself all the time (laughs). Once I got all of that together, I was good!
You made an immediate impact as a rookie, but there’s no question that you’ve made huge strides over the last year and a half. How much do you feel you’ve improved from your first day in the NBA to now?
JJJ: I think a lot. I’m just getting more comfortable with the game and things are really slowing down for me. I’m better at my decision-making and better at little things like my shot prep and getting my shot off. At the end of the day, I love to compete, so that’s going to carry me. I’m still getting better and I’m nowhere near where I want to be at all. But it’s been a good start for me.
This Grizzlies team is currently in the eighth seed out West and there’s a real chance that you guys could make the playoffs this year. How motivating was it to have everyone count you guys out prior to the season and how nice is it to silence those doubters now?
JJJ: It was definitely motivating because nobody really thought that we’d be in this position at this point. People just said to us, “Oh, you have time. Don’t worry about it! You’re young!” We kind of were just like, “We don’t care.” That’s how we play and how we are – we just don’t care. When we go out there, you have to put five on the court just like we have to put five on the court. It don’t matter if you’re young or old. There’s only one basketball. You have to literally beat us down if you want to win this game against us because we like to compete. We’ll have off nights, for sure. But at the end of the day, we’re going to play hard.
Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images
You’ve formed an excellent duo with Ja Morant. Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian wrote something interesting: If the Grizzlies make the postseason, this would be the first time in NBA history that a playoff team’s top-two scorers are both 20 years old or younger. What has it been like teaming up with Ja and developing alongside each other?
JJJ: It’s been crazy, man. Our chemistry really started off the court because we weren’t really playing in Summer League, so we really had that whole time to just hang out. From there, it was a very smooth transition once we got on the court together just because we were already so cool with each other. We were just able to mesh really well.
I’ve talked to Tony Allen about how Grit-and-Grind basketball really resonated with the fans since Memphis is a blue-collar city. You’re defensive-minded and you have a great work ethic, so do you feel like your style of play vibes nicely with Memphis too?
JJJ: Yeah, I was there for some of the Grit-and-Grind stuff last year and that’s a staple. It’s just that now it’s next-gen so it’s little bit different, but it’s still the same sort of mentality. We definitely take defense really seriously and that’s our staple. And when you make that your staple, you usually win.
Who were some of the veterans who have helped you the most – on or off the court – since you’ve entered the NBA?
JJJ: Last year, it was guys like Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Garrett Temple and Shelvin Mack. As far as guys who are on my team now, it’s Kyle Anderson and Jonas Valanciunas. Honestly, everyone loves to share information and everyone loves to give you advice (even if they’re on a different team). It’s a brotherhood, man. This is our league and we want to protect it.
I saw the video of you surprising Marc Gasol at the NBA Finals. It was cool to see you guys reconnect after the trade.
JJJ: Yeah, Marc is my guy!
We’re here at MTN DEW’s Courtside Studios. Did you get a chance to look at all three floors and what do you think of this event?
JJJ: The set-up is just incredible – the way they used the space and the way they were able to incorporate the fans. Getting involved with MTN DEW Courtside Studios has been great. It gives you a chance to connect with everyone, gives you a chance to have some lighthearted fun and gives fans a different side of the game of basketball – just showing the human side of it.
I feel you and Ja Morant are both on track to become All-Stars. After being around the All-Star Weekend festivities, are you even more motivated to reach that level?
JJJ: Oh, definitely. I’m motivated all year to get to that point, but being around great pedigree and great players, it definitely makes you want to play on that day. That’s what you keep striving for.
