The weirdest coaches' All-Star selections in recent memory
Between last night and this morning, all of the talk has been about the NBA's All-Star rosters. Most notably, the chatter outrage has been which players got snubbed and above all, how in the holy hell Joe Johnson got into his seventh All-Star game.
On that note, let's look back at some of the out of place coaches' selections to grace All-Star rosters in recent memory. The criteria to qualify for this list is that the player could not have been voted in as a starter and could not have been an injury replacement. These are a combination of weird All-Star selections by default at weak positions by NBA coaches, or just some terrible selections in general by the coaches. Each player's pre-All-Star stats and pre-All-Star team record are included.
Kevin Duckworth, Trail Blazers - 1991
16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.1 APG
Team Record: 39-9
An elbow to the eye from Bill Cartwright put Hakeem Olajuwon on the shelf during the 1990-91 season, and subsequently, this was the only time between 1985 and 1997 that Hakeem didn't make the All-Star game. That injury opened up an opportunity for a Western Conference center to emerge as an All-Star, and Duckworth, who had actually made a previous All-Star appearance in 1989, received the honor thanks to Portland's league-leading record.
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Tyrone Hill, Cavaliers - 1995
13.6 PPG, 11.4 RPG
Team Record: 28-19
Sure, Hill was averaging a double-double for a good Cavs team, but rookie Glenn Robinson was averaging 20.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals. The Bucks may have stunk, and another rookie by the name of Grant Hill had already been voted into the game by fans, but still, Tyrone Hill over Robinson looks like a joke nearly 20 years later. You want more jokes? Glen Rice was averaging about 21, 4, 2 and 1 for a really good Hornets team, Dominique Wilkins was still averaging about 19 and five for the Celtics and Kevin Willis was averaging 19 and 11 for the losing Heat. None of those forwards/big men got in, but Tyrone freaking Hill did.
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Dale Davis, Pacers - 2000
10.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Team Record: 32-16
Davis was a solid piece of a Pacers team that sat atop the Eastern Conference standings at the time and one that advanced all the way to the Finals that season, but check out the years Antoine Walker (20, 7, 2 and 1) and even Keith Van Horn (18, 8 and 2) were enjoying that season for lesser teams. Heck, a 37-year-old Patrick Ewing was even averaging a double-double in 27 games played after returning to the Knicks post-injury.
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Wally Szczerbiak, Timberwolves - 2002
19.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.0 APG
Team Record: 33-16
Szczerbiak was enjoying a fine season for a Timberwolves team that had the fifth-best record overall at the time, but he shouldn't have beaten out a young Shawn Marion (18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.2 blocks) or Rasheed Wallace (19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.3 blocks, 1.1 steals), two players with much more complete games on Suns and Blazers teams that were in the West playoff mix themselves.
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Brad Miller, Pacers/Kings - 2003, 2004
13.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.7 APG
Team Record: 34-15, 37-13
The thing with Miller making back-to-back All-Star games for two different teams in two different Conferences in 2003 and 2004 is that it's directly attributable to the dearth of centers at the time, especially when you consider that all of the better centers in those years also took part in the 2003 and 2004 All-Star games. If anything, the fact that coaches selected Miller two years in a row is as good a reason as any to advocate for the NBA's current system of selecting frontcourt players in general as opposed to saving spots just for fives.
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Jamaal Magloire, Hornets - 2004
12.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.3 APG
Team Record: 28-24
Like Miller in 2003 and in the same 2003-04 season, Magloire made the All-Star game for being a pretty good center on a good team in a really, really bad time for the center position. Reminder: DeMarcus Cousins and his 26 and 11 averages for a bad Kings team weren't good enough to snag an All-Star berth in the frontcourt this season.
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Joe Johnson, Nets - 2014
15.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.8 APG
Team Record: 20-23
At this stage in his career, Johnson is an average-ish player on a below average, disappointing team. His numbers, both traditional and advanced, confirm that. And yet coaches chose him over Kyle Lowry, who has been the 24-21, third-place Raptors' MVP with averages of 16.8 points, 7.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Lance Stephenson, Arron Afflalo, Jeff Teague and Kemba Walker are all additional Eastern Conference guards who deserved the honor more, and from a wild card standpoint, Al Jefferson (19.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 blocks) also definitely bests Johnson's underwhelming credentials.