Ben Simmons apparently did not care for being snubbed by the selectors for the 2018 NBA All Star game, so much so in fact, that he took what for members of his generation was an unprecedented step.
He took to social media to vent.
All of our astute readers, both of you, will know that we were expressing some mild sarcasm there just now, as the 20-somethings of today cannot get out of bed without posting about it.
Simmons, despite playing at a level that was worthy of selection, discovered the cold hard truth of the NBA, which is that along with being meaningless, many spots on the NBA All Star team are handed out as emeritus honours to aging veterans, with rookies seldom being included.
Simmons was left off the first team. He was left off the second team and he was even overlooked as a replacement for injured players.
Where Simmons may have gone off the rails a bit was when he told a reporter for the Philadelphia Enquirer, “I don’t really know what an All-Star is anymore. “I mean if it was about win-lose, you picked (Goran) Dragic obviously, and you pick Kemba, whose team (Charlotte Hornets) is seven wins under us.”
The 763rs are not exactly burning up the court, either, so Simmons’ statement with regard to team win/loss records came off as somewhat non sequitur.
Seven-time All Star selection Grant Hill felt inclined to chime in, telling Simmons that he should simply concentrate on improving his already impressive playing statistics to the degree that he would be truly impossible to ignore for the All Star team.
“You’re a great player with a great future, but you’re a rookie,” Hill said on NBA TV.Just keep your mouth shut and play great basketball.”
The group that has made the NBA All Star squad as rookies is certainly an elite one of just four players.
Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal.
The selections for the game are an amalgamation of voters, 50 percent fans, 25 percent NBA players and 25 percent media members.
