5 players who got snubbed on 2023-24 NBA All-Star starters in Eastern Conference
The NBA announced on Thursday the five starters from the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, that will play in the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis on Feb. 18. Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid will be the East starters.
Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be the West starters. The reserves will be announced on Thursday.
On that note, let's take a look at five players who didn't get selected as starters in the Eastern Conference.
Five players who got snubbed on 2023-24 NBA All-Star starters in Eastern Conference
#5 Jimmy Butler
The superstar of the Miami Heat was among the candidates to become a starter, but it appears that he will play in the All-Star Game as a reserve.
Butler was fourth in fan voting and eighth in player voting, while he didn'y get any votes from the media. Still, he's considered a frontrunner to be named an East reserve.
#4 Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell was fourth in fan voting, fifth in players' voting and third in media voting, but it wasn't enough to surpass Damian Lillard, who got just nine votes from the media. He has a good chance of making it to the All-Star Game as a reserve.
#3 Trae Young
This is not the first time Trae Young got snubbed and is not selected as an East starter.
He was second in fan voting and sixth in players' voting but got only one vote from media. Like Mitchell, he's a candidate to become a reserve.
#2 Tyrese Maxey
One of the major snubs in the Eastern Conference selections for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, he was second overall in players' voting and fourth in media voting, surpassing Lillard in both categories.
However, the Milwaukee Bucks megastar got almost 800,000 more votes from fans, and that made the difference. Maxey, who is having a breakout year with the Philadelphia 76ers, was sixth overall in fan voting.
#1 Jalen Brunson
Along with Tyrese Maxey, the superstar of the New York Knicks was considered frontrunner to become an East starter next to Tyrese Haliburton, who was the grand favorite for one of the two guards position.
Nevertheless, Brunson ended up third in the voting process, behind Lillard and Haliburton. The young star guard was third in player voting and second in media voting. He ended up fifth in fan voting, trailing Haliburton, Mitchell, Lillard and Young.
Despite their snub, all five players still have a chance to make it to the NBA All-Star Game and will have to wait until Thursday to find out if they have been selected as reserves.