Let me reaffirm my position on this. All this time I have written for this great site, I have moaned and shaken my head over NBA fans voting for the All-Star Starters. I get it, I really do. The NBA pride themselves on giving their fans a voice.
And I’ve softened on my stance from a couple of years ago. Back in the day I wanted no fan voting whatsoever. Now, I just want the coaches to vote first and then the fans get to fill the bench. Is that so bad to ask?
Now this year most of my head shaking has been about two players, Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving. Kobe leads in All-Star voting, we all know why. But as it turns out, Lakers head coach Byron Scott says the coaches would’ve voted for Kobe anyway! I can’t win.
“I think the coaches would, yeah,” Lakers head coach Byron Scott said. “Out of respect.”
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan’s take is nearly identical: “I don’t want to speak for all the coaches, but it would be more of a respect thing in terms of what he’s done in this league for a long period of time…You look at all the championships and the individual accolades and those kind of things, but I think one of his greatest qualities is he’s an unbelievable competitor that thrives in that environment.”
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, who served as an assistant with the Lakers during the 2011-12 season, agrees.
“It’s just a testament to what he’s meant to the game,” Snyder said.
I give up. I can’t do this anymore. Just do me a favour and don’t come crying to me when all you see on TV is NBA analysts moaning about a player who deserves it more than Kobe but unfortunately is a victim to Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour.
