Biggest ‘snubs’ from the 2021 NBA All-Star Game

Mike Conley

Boasting a 25-6 record, with 21 of those 25 wins coming by double digits, the Utah Jazz have been absolutely dominant. With such a small sample size to choose All-Stars from, it’s been tempting to want to reward the Jazz with a third All-Star behind Mitchell and Gobert, and Mike Conley was the obvious choice there (contrary to what Charles Barkley thinks).

Though he’s only averaged 16.5 points and 5.6 assists per game, Conley has helped turn Utah into the dark-horse contender everyone expected last year. He’s shooting 41.2 percent from 3, he’s an advanced stats god and he was leading the league in plus/minus until he missed a few games. Anytime you’re talking about the league’s best team dominating by a significant margin, the case will be made for tacking on an extra All-Star due to their contributions to team success.

I’m just not seeing that case being strong enough with Conley though, aside from the sentimentality of people wanting him to get his first All-Star nod in what might have been his last shot at doing so. The Jazz have been a juggernaut so far, but when you think “All-Star,” are you really putting him in over the likes of Devin Booker or Chris Paul? Probably not, and the fact that he’s missed six games (or, roughly 20 percent of the season so far) matters.

Verdict: Correct call