Tyrese Maxey, 76ers React to Joel Embiid's All-Star Starter Snub
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On Thursday night, the NBA released the 2022-2023 NBA All-Star starters. Among the ten players picked, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was not on the list.
Embiid’s absence in the starter’s pool came as a shock to many. Considering the big man is once again climbing up the MVP rankings in the NBA with another dominant performance this season, it seems Embiid should inevitably be picked to start in the All-Star game once again.
Unfortunately, the NBA’s format prevented that from happening. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was named a captain from the Eastern Conference. Behind Antetokounmpo in the frontcourt rankings is Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Since Tatum ranked in front of Embiid with fan votes and media votes, Embiid was edged out to the fourth spot overall.
And since two guards are selected for the backcourt, there was no chance Embiid could crack the starting lineup coming out of the Eastern Conference.
Following a Friday morning practice session, several Sixers and the head coach Doc Rivers reacted to the voting results, which will likely vote Embiid in as a reserve.
“It is what it is, he’s clearly a starter,” said Doc Rivers. “I don’t pay much attention to it, to be honest. It’s the vote thing. I think the voting is flawed the way they do it. I said that for ten years, so I don’t talk about it anymore. I just think it should be the five best guys, and they figure it out. It should be positionless. That’s what the league is. I don’t know what’s taking our league so long to figure it out.”
Two of Embiid’s teammates seem to agree with the notion that the voting system is flawed. However, they don’t seem to believe the apparent snub will create a negative reaction around the Sixers, as it might just work as fuel for the MVP candidate.
“That’s crazy,” said Tyrese Maxey. “I guess that’s just how the voting goes. We all know that Joel is Joel. He’ll go out there, and maybe he’ll use it as motivation to keep killing. I don’t think he needs much motivation for that, but he’s balling right now. So, kudos to him.”
“I mean, what do you have to do?” Georges Niang added. “What is he averaging like 33 and a half points? He’s an All-Star starter, in my eyes. Hopefully, that means enough to him. I know he’s great. I don’t know what else to say, but I think it’s crazy. I don’t know what you do. Can you complain, and does it get changed? I don’t know. He’s definitely worthy of being a starter. It is what it is. I think Joel will come out tomorrow and show people why he should be an All-Star starter. Maybe it’s a good thing.”
This season, Embiid leads the league in scoring once again. With 33 points per game, the big man is shooting a career-high of 53 percent from the field while also collecting ten rebounds per game and dishing out four assists per game. Embiid will more than likely make the All-Star game for the sixth time in his career this year. Unfortunately, he’ll just have to go in as a reserve this time around.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
