Back in 2015, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was left off the first run of All-Star reserves and let folks know he wasn’t happy about it. Last year, the same thing happened and Lillard cooled on his stance about it. In both instances, however, he was eventually named as an injury replacement. As last night’s All-Star reserves were announced, Lillard was once again left off … and once again, he’s not letting it ruffle his feathers too much. Mike Richman of The Oregonian has more:
For the second straight season, the Portland Trail Blazers will not a have a representative in the NBA All-Star Game. Only this season they have two players who feel they deserved inclusion.
The Western Conference All-Star reserves were announced on Thursday and Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were both left off the team, which is compiled based on voting from the league’s coaching staffs.
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Despite impressive numbers, the Blazers backcourt duo will not take part in the league’s midseason showcase.
Lillard is averaging 26.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds a game this season, becoming the first player in the last 30 years to average at least 26 points, five assists and four rebounds and not make the All-Star team.
He joins Milwaukee’s Michael Redd (2006 and 2007) and Golden State’s Purvis Short (1985 and 1986) as the only players in NBA history to average at least 25 points in consecutive seasons and not make an All-Star team in either year, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.
Last season, Lillard was admittedly disappointed when he missed out on an All-Star spot that thought he had earned. But said that frustration has led him to placing less emphasis on landing an All-Star nod this season.
“Obviously, I would love to be there,” Lillard said following Blazers’ practice on Thursday. “But actually not being a part of it last year, going into this year it’s like I would love to be there but if I don’t, I’m not going to be angry at the world about it. We got bigger problems.”
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There is an undeniable team element that factors into the All-Star voting. While Lillard and McCollum have put up monster numbers, the Blazers are 20-27 and sit a half game behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the West.
Coaches place an emphasis on team success and the Blazers underwhelming season plays a role in Lillard and McCollum’s exclusion from the All-Star game. While both players denied being emotionally invested in making the game, they appeared to have at least considered that they were unlikely to make it despite their impressive statistical seasons.
Following Blazers practice on Thursday, McCollum briefly interrupted Lillard’s media session to chime in with his own All-Star related question, asking if coaches should vote for players who put up “pedestrian-like numbers” or players that “change teams drastically.”
“I think it should be guys who change teams drastically,” Lillard responded to his backcourt partner’s query. “There’s certain things that go into this now and those certain things are out of our control. You just got to roll with the punches. You understand?”
“There’s a lot of politics involved in this game,” McCollum added.
