When the NBA announced the All-Star starters yesterday, plenty of you probably raised a few eyebrows when Russell Westbrook, who is averaging a triple-double, wasn’t a starter. Thank fan voting for that, because fans always know best, don’t they?
Predictably, many observers, including some of Westbrook’s teammates, weren’t too pleased with the news:
Triple-Doubles
All-Star starters (COMBINED)=19
Russ=21Nobody deserves to start in the all star game over Russ.
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) January 20, 2017
Kevin Garnett on TNT just called Russell Westbrook not starting the All-Star game "the league's all-time history snub."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) January 20, 2017
Dude averaging a triple double and not starting in the all star game is wild.
— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) January 20, 2017
But when Westbrook was asked about the snub on Friday, he brushed it aside without almost any attention paid to it.
Westbrook on All-Star: "I don't play for All-Star nods or All-Star bids." Full video here: pic.twitter.com/4bw3EuNPot
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) January 20, 2017
“It is what it is. It’s the nature of the business, the game,” he said. Just play. I don’t play for All-Star nods or All-Star bids. I play to win championships, and every night I compete at a high level, and you know, it’ll work out. Just continue doing what I’m doing, and you know, play the game the right way, and everything else will work out.”
When asked what it meant to him that his fellow players voted him the No. 1 point guard, he said it was a “great honor”, but he’s playing to win a championship, not to be a starter in the All-Star Game.
And there was also this little humorous comment from Russ when a reporter told him the media had voted him as the No. 1 point guard:
“Congratulations, bro,” Westbrook responded dryly.
So the NBA’s new All-Star voting format really worked out well in its initial go-round eh? And while Russ might not care, plenty of those who might be watching the All-Star game certainly do.
