SUMMARY
- James Harden faced a notable snub as he was not selected for the 2024 NBA All-Star reserves.
- Despite the Golden State Warriors' subpar performance with a record of 21-22, Stephen Curry secured a spot in the Western Conference reserves for the All-Star Game.
While the NBA Trade Deadline is looming large on most players, the others might be feeling under the weather as they failed to make it to the 2024 NBA All-Star reserves. The much-anticipated list was floated on January 30, 2024, and many players couldn’t make space for their names on the list. While star players like Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Edwards made a deserving case to be named All-Stars, a few of the players including James Harden got snubbed.
One prominent name among the All-Star snubs was the Clippers’ star. The star guard of the Los Angeles Clippers missed the boat for All-Star recognition. ‘No D Harden’ has a record of 30-13 in the 43 games that he has played with the Clippers.
Not only that but his advanced playmaking and knockdown shooting are other parameters to take into account. He is shooting 41.0% from the 3-point line and 44.7% from the deep.
Although he had a rough start this season, the 34-year-old star is putting up big numbers this season. He is averaging 17.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 8.5 assists this season and has scope for improvement as the season escalates. Well, the reason for his snubbing is nothing but the earlier selection of his other teammates. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were both named West Reserve.
If Harden was also selected, then the Clippers would be the only team in the league to have three All-Star reserves. Since that would create an abnormal disparity in the league, Harden got snubbed. Furthermore, there are a couple of playoff teams that have zero All-Stars, and this action alone would seem very out of place for them. Hence, ‘The Beard’ ended, becoming the odd man out.
Stephen Curry surpassed James Harden with a below-par performance
The star guard of the Golden State Warriors has a record of 21-22 this season, as talks of the fading dynasty gain more momentum. It’s a fact that all the players on the reserve list are either first or second-choice options for their respective teams in terms of offense. However, Steph is the only one with a sub.500 performance.
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game Western Conference Reserves:
▪️ Devin Booker (PHX)
▪️ Stephen Curry (GSW)
▪️ Anthony Davis (LAL)
▪️ Anthony Edwards (MIN)
▪️ Paul George (LAC)
▪️ Kawhi Leonard (LAC)
▪️ Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) pic.twitter.com/MJGxBxEJ93— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 2, 2024
There’s no doubt that with an average of 28 points, 45.9% shooting from the deep, and 41.1% from the 3-point line, Curry is set to have another elite season in the league. Curry is No. 1 for the Bay Area team, while James Harden is at No. 3. These rankings alone make the case for the name on the reserve list. Well, as far as ‘Step Daddy’ is concerned, the player is more focused on bagging the NBA title this season.
James Harden failed to register the 11th All-Star appearance of his career
The 6-foot-5 guard is a 10-time NBA All-Star, and eight of his appearances have been with the Houston Rockets. However, the player has failed to clinch the position for two years in a row now. The star couldn’t make it to the reserve list in the 2022–2023 season as well. Last season, he was averaging 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists with his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Well, for James, making it to the All-Star list never seemed to be the goal, as the guard is always eyeing a title. The question is whether the No. 3 seed, the Los Angeles Clippers, would be able to bag one for the guard or not.