'Put the best players in the game': Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker after NBA All-Star selection snub
PHOENIX -- The league has changed on Devin Booker.
After not being named an NBA All-Star reserve as voted by the head coaches, Booker voiced his disappointment in a way that was aimed squarely at the selection process.
“It was always a goal of mine, but it just reproves the point that the NBA is different from the game I fell in love with at the beginning of all the best players being in the All-Star Game,” said Booker, who is averaging 27.1 points on 51 percent shooting, both career highs, in his fifth NBA season out of Kentucky.
“Growing up watching that. And now it’s an entertainment, drama, political-filled league, but we’re a part of it now. It pays well so I guess we should be quiet about it.”
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Booker said his initial reaction to not making the NBA All-Star team was “more rest,” but when later asked how he’d alter the selection format, the Suns star guard grinned and simply said, “put the best players in the game,” regardless of the position.
The All-Star starters are selected by the fans (50 percent of the vote), players (25 percent) and media (25 percent). James Harden and Luka Doncic came out of that process as the starting backcourt for the Western Conference.
LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis are the West’s starting frontcourt for the 2020 All-Star Game Feb. 16 in Chicago.
Phoenix hasn’t had an All-Star since Steve Nash in 2012.
“It’s a shame that when you look at the system, the way these guys are picked he’s probably a casualty of that,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “It’s pretty clear that the Western Conference coaches didn’t value what he brought to the table and that’s disappointing.
“I’ve been through this before,” Williams said. “I just feel bad for Devin. I feel bad for him and his family. He certainly deserves to be an All-Star. When you look at this numbers and you put them in historical context, there’s only a few guys who have done what he’s done in the history of the game.”