For the first time in NBA All-Star history, players and media members got a voice in the vote.
The results were released today, and it was the Golden State Warriors’ peers who sent a louder message than the writers and broadcasters.
Kevin Durant was the only Warrior the players ranked No. 1 at his position.
In the Western Conference tabulations, Draymond Green ranked 9th among forwards, Klay Thompson ranked 8th among guards and Steph Curry — who the fans voted as the top guard — ranked third behind Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Curry’s allotment seems correct, given that Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double and James Harden arguably is the most improved player in the league, and is also leading the NBA in assists. Although this tweet seems telling about the general attitude of NBA players toward Golden State.
Stephen Curry received only 63 All-Star votes from players. The NBA says that 324 players participated in voting.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) January 20, 2017
It’s Green and Thompson’s rankings that are a bit out of whack. Player votes had the following forwards more deserving than Draymond (in descending order): DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Durant.
The guards the players ranked above Thompson maybe are a bit more realistic: Chris Paul, C.J. McCollum, Damian Lillard, Curry, Harden and Westbrook.
Media members differed in their votes. They had Green ranked 6th and Thompson tied for 4th with Paul. Here’s the full balloting.
Here are the voting results. pic.twitter.com/qK7IgfT10r
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 20, 2017
Last season, the Warriors dealt with a rash of criticism from former players that the team was both soft and that the rules allowed dominant three-point shooting.
It’s natural that the negativity against the Warriors would trickle down to current players around the league. Constantly losing to the Warriors seems to have made players jaded and perhaps jealous of Golden State’s success. Durant’s arrival also didn’t help the team’s perception around the league.
Or maybe some players really do feel like if they were to trade places with Green or Thompson, they would be receiving similar accolades. As absurd as it sounds, some players do not appreciate Green’s all-around prowess — a DPOY of the year candidate, 8th in assists and 18th in rebounds. In a season many thought his role would completely change, Thompson’s numbers have barely dipped. He’s 5th in the NBA with 125 made threes on the year.
This vote could actually be a blessing in disguise for Warriors fans. Green will use it to light a fire under himself and Thompson generally follows Draymond’s lead.