CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — First it was the media who didn’t select LaMelo Ball, now it was the coaches.
The Hornets guard was not among the players chosen for the NBA All-Star game, despite posting being fourth in the league with 28 points per game. The game’s reserves were announced Thursday, as voted on by the league’s coaches, and Ball was not among them.
A week ago, Ball was not named among the Eastern Conference starters. Those players are determined by a combination of fan, player and media voting. Ball had the highest fan votes among Eastern Conference guards, but ranked seventh among media members.
The backcourt players that were selected ahead of ball were the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (starter), Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (starter) and Darius Garland, Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, Heat’s Tyler Herro, and the Bucks’ Damian Lillard.
Ball is currently out with an ankle injury that occurred Monday night against the Lakers, and has played in 31 of the team’s 44 games. The Hornets are 12-32 this season.
The team’s response so far has been a social media post of center Mark Williams giving a “side-eye.”
