Lou Williams lobbies for 1st All-Star nod: 'Honestly, I deserve it'
Lou Williams is having himself a career year, and he wants something to show for it.
The Los Angeles Clippers guard is averaging a personal-best 23.4 points per game this season, and the 31-year-old has been lights out in 10 games since the calendar flipped, scoring less than 25 points just twice in the new year. His recent impressive play has even put him in the same sentence as Michael Jordan, and Williams hopes the coaches around the league will do more than just glance at his name when they vote for the All-Star reserves.
"Naw, I'll be proud if I make it," Williams told the Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner. "Honestly, I deserve it. I rarely speak about myself because I've never set personal goals. Being an All-Star wasn't even on my radar this year.
"But with what this team has been through this year with injuries, with so many different lineups and still having an opportunity to compete for the playoffs and to put ourselves over .500 at this point, I think I've got something to do with that."
Related: theScore's All-Star reserves picks
Williams may be in tough against other potential reserve guards in the West considering superstar names such as Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Jimmy Butler failed to beat out Stephen Curry and James Harden for the two limited starting spots in the backcourt.
His bid could be bolstered by his numbers in January, however, where he's vaulted everyone else in scoring in 2018:
Rank | Player | GP | PTS/G | FG% | 3P% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lou Williams | 10 | 30.1 | 46.1 | 40.7 |
2 | Stephen Curry | 8 | 29.3 | 50.0 | 44.4 |
3 | Anthony Davis | 8 | 29.1 | 53.8 | 26.7 |
4 | DeMar DeRozan | 11 | 27.6 | 47.8 | 37.5 |
5 | Kevin Durant | 6.7 | 27.6 | 56.0 | 48.8 |