On January 28th, the NBA revealed the list of reserve players for the Western and Eastern conferences for the All-Star Game.
The players that were selected by the Western Conference coaches were Draymond Green, James Harden, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and LaMarcus Aldridge.
When looking down the list, NBA fans, especially Kings fans, will notice that Kings point guard Rajon Rondo was left out of the roster.
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Rondo is having himself an incredible season by being a major component in the Kings offense, so with the success that Rondo has achieved was he considered to be snubbed from the All-Star game?
Based on the resume so far, Rondo is producing All-Pro numbers. Right now he is averaging 11.8 points, 11.9 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per contest. He is also tied 7th in the league in double-doubles (24) and 3rd in triple-doubles (5) this seaon.
Although Rondo has achieved many personal accolades and is playing at an All-Star level, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he deserves to be on the roster of stars.
The players that were selected into the “Guards” category for the West were Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Chris Paul, and Klay Thompson.
There is a valid argument made that all these players deserve to be ahead of Rondo not only because of their individual success, but also because of the success they are experiencing with their teams.
All their teams (Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers) are expected to contend in the postseason this season while the Sacramento Kings (Rondo’s team) are fighting just to make the eighth seed.
So overall, was Rajon Rondo a snub from the All-Star game? The answer is no. Although playing at a high level, because of the mix of personal and team accolades, he should not be ahead of any of the guards that were selected.
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There is still a chance where the Kings point guard can still get added onto the roster. If there was a scenario where one of the players in the West had to drop out of the All-Star Game, Rondo would have be a serious candidate for that spot as well as Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Even though Rondo, in my opinion, was probably a spot or two away from making his 5th All-Star appearance, it does not by any means downgrade the excellent season he has been had so far.
A season ago it seemed like Rondo’s career was on the decline, but fortunately for the Kings and their fans he has rejuvenated himself this season in the state’s capital.