NBA All Star Game 2021: Damian Lillard snubbed, upset fans question Luka Doncic's place

On Thursday night, the NBA announced its starters for the 2021 NBA All-Star game which will take place on March 7 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Lakers forward LeBron James and Nets star Kevin Durant were announced as captains for the Western and Eastern Conference teams, respectively. However, NBA fans were left stunned as Portland Trail Blazers’ star point guard Damian Lillard failed to make the cut and took to social media to express their surprise at his exclusion. 

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NBA All-Star Game 2021: Captains and starters

The NBA, on Thursday, confirmed that it will be Team LeBron James against Team Kevin Durant at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta on March 7. The two captains, as well as their fellow starters, were announced on TNT following a process that was determined by a combination of voting from fans (50 percent), media (25 percent) and players (25 percent). Here are the starters from both teams for the All-Star game next month.

Western Conference

• Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors, Guard
• Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, Guard
• LeBron James (captain), Los Angeles Lakers, Frontcourt
• Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers, Frontcourt
• Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, Frontcourt

Eastern Conference

• Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets, Guard
• Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards, Guard
• Kevin Durant (captain), Brooklyn Nets, Frontcourt
• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, Frontcourt
• Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers, Frontcourt

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Fans react over Damian Lillard snub and Luka Doncic starting for All-Star game

According to reporter Chris Haynes, a tie occurred between Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Lillard, with fan votes giving Doncic the edge in the tiebreaker. Lillard, who is having a stellar season this term, is not likely to take the snub well. The Trail Blazers star is currently averaging 29.8 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Doncic is averaging 29.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game but the Mavs are in 10th place on the Western Conference. 

The backcourt voting in the Western Conference saw Golden State’s Steph Curry as the No.1 in fan, player and media voting. It was the second backcourt spot up for grabs. Doncic was No.2 in fan voting and No.3 in player and media voting. Lillard was No. 2 in player and media voting and No.3 in fan voting.

The weighted score for each player totalled 2.5 points. Since fan voting decided the tiebreaker, Doncic got in as a starter. The Mavericks star had 3,335,042 fans votes, nearly half a million more than Lillard’s 2,848,663.

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However, some Trail Blazers fans on social media were then quick to point out why they felt there was an injustice over Lillard not making it to the All-Star Game lineup. On Twitter, one wrote, "How is Lillard not making the All-Star Game? This is just plain ridiculous. He has lifted Portland to 4th with CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic missing significant time". Another wrote, "Doncic over Lillard? NBA flat out robbing Damian there." A third wrote, "Can't believe we live in a world where Lilliard is not an All-Star starter while Doncic is."

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Image Credits - Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks Instagram