NBA: 2021 All-Star starter snubs from each conference

NBA All-Star Starter Snubs: James Harden, Brooklyn Nets 

Fans, Media, even players deemed Nets star James Harden unable to be a team player. He has responded by leading the league in assists thus far, helping the Brooklyn Nets boast the Eastern Conference’s second-best record. His success on the court, with or without teammates and All-Star Starters Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has been absurd.

In a Nets uniform, Harden is posting the lowest usage rate (25.4%) since his 2011-12 6MOTY campaign (21.6%) and still somehow assisting on 43 percent of his teammates’ field goals when on the court. Harden still sits amongst the league’s craftiest scorers, scoring 24.3 points per game on 50/41/90 splits. His efficiency is at an all-time high, his team certainly owns real estate in the conversation for title contenders, and Harden is proving that only one basketball being on the court will not get in the way of his championship aspirations.

As far as his comparison to starters Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal, Harden has his strengths and weaknesses. While the NBA All-Star Game is more of a popularity contest than a measure of team success, Harden’s Nets are 8.5 games ahead of Beal’s Wizards, and there is certainly something to be said for assistance in winning. Unfortunately for Harden, Beal is averaging an astounding 32.8 points per game on 47 percent shooting, and Kyrie Irving’s career-high 28.3 points per game on 53/43/90 splits are nothing to scoff at either.

So, while it is clear that the voting system in place values pure scoring and dominance over the bigger picture of team success, Harden’s season thus far as Brooklyn’s new floor-general has certainly been worthy of an All-Star starting spot.