3 deserving starters snubbed by All-Star voters

The new voting system implemented this season in NBA All-Star balloting was ultimately meant to even out the field away from a pure popularity contest. By including players and select media in a weighted vote, the idea was that the more deserving players would get the nods.

Yet as Thursday's announcements demonstrated, there are still stars who get snubbed.

Russell Westbrook

The most egregious snub, by far. As of Thursday, Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double through 44 games, something no player has done over the course of a season since Oscar Robertson during the presidential administration of John F. Kennedy. He also presently has the highest PER in the NBA at 29.6.

Related: How Westbrook missed out on being voted an All-Star starter

Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry was the more-deserving Toronto Raptor than his backcourt partner DeMar DeRozan. The East starter the past two seasons, he now takes a backseat to DeRozan and Kyrie Irving, and that's wrong. Lowry is currently the best point guard in the Eastern Conference, and is the best player on the Raptors. DeRozan's scoring numbers this season tend to overshadow that.

Isaiah Thomas

Boston's diminutive star has been on a roll, averaging a league-leading 32.3 points per game in January and lights-out 46.3 percent 3-point shooting. He also tops the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring, just ahead of Westbrook. As it stands, Thomas ended up in a tie with DeRozan but lost the spot in fan voting.