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5 Top NBA Players Who Did Not Make the NBA All-Star Team

By: Vivek Nair Image credit: NBA

The NBA revealed the 14 reserve players for the upcoming All-Star Game in 2023. The All-Star starters have been revealed, and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will be team captains.

It’s difficult to select only 12 spots for each conference, and there are way more than 24 very good players. But that doesn’t mean that a few players who didn’t make the final cut aren't worthy. Here are the top five biggest snubs from the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.

1) James Harden, 76ers- Due to a sprained tendon in his foot earlier in the season, he has missed 16 out of 50 contests  fewer than reserve selections DeMar DeRozan and Jaylen Brown. Harden’s been better than all of them on the court averaging 21.4 points, 11 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game.

2)Jimmy Butler, Heat- Butler missed 15 games due to various injuries costing him to miss the All Stars this season. Shooting a career-high 55.6% on 2-point shots and leading the league, there's no doubt that Butler was a clear fit for the All Star game.

3) Trae Young, Hawks- Young is one of six players in the top 15 in scoring and assists this season, joining Jokic, Morant, Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, and LeBron James who made it on the All-Star list, while Young misses out on what would’ve been his third selection.

4) Anthony Davis, Lakers- Davis has been shooting a career-high 58.3% from the floor and rebounding more than he has in five years. But thanks to a stress injury in his foot, he missed 24 games this season, causing him to miss the all star game this year.

5) Devin Booker, Suns- With a pair of 50-point performances and averaging a career-high 27.1 points, it was obvious that Booker would make the All-Star team. But like Davis, Booker's injuries allowed him to only play 29 games this season, for which he wasn't selected.

Though they weren't fit for this season, we hope to see them make it next year. On the bright side, preceding the big game, it's an entire weekend of events starting with the Rising Stars Challenge followed by the ever-popular slam dunk contest.

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