Round 1 of the NBA All-Star voting results were released Thursday afternoon. To nobody’s surprise, the usual suspects topped the charts. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Jayson Tatum were the five-highest vote-getters in Round 1. This isn’t unexpected. All of them have their own separate streaks of consecutive all-star appearances in healthy seasons, and their play this season has warranted this.
But look at the third starting frontcourt player for the East (at least according to Round 1 of fan voting), and what do you know? Playing well in the Garden does do favors for your career. In all his years in the league, Karl-Anthony Towns has never ranked higher than 21st in fan-voting throughout the All-Star process.
This year? He ranks eighth, with 1.099 million votes. The gap between him and the fourth frontcourt players in the East (Paolo Banchero) is more than 600,000 votes.
But if this logic is true, why isn’t Jalen Brunson one of the All-Star top vote-getters in the East, at least according to the fan vote? He ranks fourth in the guards category with 477,253 votes, nearly 240,000 votes behind Damian Lillard. Lillard and Donovan Mitchell both deserve their votes. Mitchell has led the Cavaliers to an NBA-best 29-4, while Lillard has been instrumental in getting the Bucks back on track.
LaMelo Ball is the odd man out. So why is he a top vote-getter, and Brunson isn’t?
Jalen Brunson’s Lack of NBA All-Star Votes is Baffling
Watching Box Scores
Lamelo Ball has the most votes for a guard in the Eastern Conference. The easiest way to decipher why that’s the case is Ball leads the guards in points per game. Amidst a career year, Lamelo is averaging 30.1 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.3 rebounds on 42.5/34.6/84.4 shooting splits. These numbers are great, for casual fans and those that cannot watch the games. If one were to look at basketball reference’s adjusted shooting metrics that compare a player’s numbers to league average numbers, Ball has hurt his team through his shots. His shooting splits have fallen below his career averages, and he is worse than the league average.
On the other side, Brunson is having one of his best shooting seasons ever. He helps the team through his shooting and is one of the biggest reasons the Knicks are 1 game behind the Celtics for the 2-seed. He has also been slightly more valuable this season, with a 1.5 VORP compared to Ball’s 1.4. Brunson’s estimated plus-minus is +3.6 (21st in the NBA), while Ball’s is +3.4 (26th). Brunson actually has 2.1 more estimated wins than Ball.
Flashy vs Sturdy
Ball’s game is all about flashy moves. His game is built on flashy handles, no-look passes, and highlight shots. His average shot distance is 17.7ft, and he attempts most of his shots from 25-29 ft. Ball’s pizzazz and show-off style naturally put him on more highlight reels, and encourage media discussions, because they attract more kids. Ball is everything a young hooper wants to be.
Jalen Brunson is the exact opposite. Brunson’s average shot distance is 14.5ft, and he attempts most of his shots from within 10ft. His game is built on getting to the rim and getting to the mid-range. Brunson is the more efficient player (55.4% EFG), but his game is far more rugged looking and robotic than Ball’s. He doesn’t get the media attention he deserves and isn’t put on highlight reels.
The Last Word on Jalen Brunson’s Lagging All-Star Votes
The vote tally should definitely side towards Brunson as the season goes on, but it is frustrating to see the lack of respect he gets. These simple statistics show how close the two are (or that Brunson is better), yet the fan voting has them in completely separate categories. In the grand scheme of things, an All-Star is an All-Star. It doesn’t matter if you are a starter or not, but in the meantime, this vote gleams into the lack of people watching the NBA, because if that was the case, Brunson would definitely be a starter.
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