Rockets: 3 replacements for Anthony Davis in the All-Star game

3. Devin Booker

Many fans were upset that Devin Booker was left out from the All-Star game and rightfully so. Booker is having himself a productive year, once again, while also playing a large role in his team’s success this season. The Phoenix Suns heading into Tuesday’s matchups were tied in the loss column with the Lakers and Clippers for the second seed in the West.

The Suns are also one of two teams currently with a 9-1 record in the past 10 games, with the other being the Utah Jazz. Booker is averaging 24.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the field, a career-high for him.

In addition to this, he’s shooting an impressive 38.1 percent from downtown, one of his better season averages for this metric. He also has a +6.2 plus/Minus per 100 possessions, which is the highest it has been in his career.

Selections for All-Star appearances are based on both team and player success. Booker can check the box for both of these qualifications, which makes this snub extremely bizarre and upsetting for fans around the league. His teammate, former Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul, on the other hand was named a reserve, which is quite telling.

One of the drawbacks of the All-Star game is that sometimes multiple players from the same team can be selected and this can result in certain guys being left out, such as Booker. Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are all players who are part of a tandem in the West.

Having both Paul and Booker would have made 8 of 12 players being from four teams. While those players’ teams are having great success this season, it doesn’t leave much room for deserving guys to make the roster.

With Davis expecting to miss the event, Booker can fulfill that last spot and make his second appearance in an All-Star game. He is widely regarded as the biggest snub for the event, at least LeBron certainly agrees.

Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 24, 2021

This was sent shortly after the reserves were announced, and LeBron seems to think Booker is often being overlooked around the league. The 6′ 5″ 24 year-old-guard is a legitimate and serious candidate who can be playing in Atlanta on March 7th.

We will just have to wait and see if he gets the nod to replace Davis when he officially is listed as out from the event.

Next: No. 2