Whiteside belittles gimmicky All-Star campaigns; Embiid votes for him

Hassan Whiteside isn't a fan of fan voting.

Despite being one of the most dominant post players in the game, the likelihood of the Miami Heat center making his first All-Star appearance seems to be waning by the day.

Whiteside, 27, was ninth in fan votes among East forwards in first returns, but in the second edition released Thursday, he fell off the top-10 list completely - for which he blames a flaw in the voting system.

"People are going to vote for who they like," he told reporters after Friday's practice, as quoted by the Sun Sentinel's Shandel Richardson. "It's more of a popularity thing. ...

"It's more so a gimmick. I look at guys and they just do stuff to win the fans over, make jokes on Twitter to get people to vote for them. It ain't got nothing to do really with talent."

That comment appears to be a jab at Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, who's garnered hundreds of the thousands of fan votes thanks in part to some hilarious tweets. The rookie is fourth in the race among East forwards.

Related: Embiid trolls 'BBQ Chicken' Whiteside on Instagram

Whiteside, who's averaging a league-high 14.4 rebounds to go along with 17.5 points and 2.2 blocks per game, also shut down the notion he hasn't received much support due to the 11-29 Heat's lack of success.

"We finished third in the East last year and I wasn't an All-Star," said Miami's $98-million man.

He has a point, as only two games separate the Heat from Embiid's Sixers. In any case, Whiteside conceded he's not going to focus on the showcase in New Orleans anymore, instead dedicating his attention to doing what's best for his club.

Upon seeing an article about Whiteside's slight, Embiid added to his social media legacy by voting for his Heat counterpart.