For the fourth time in two weeks, Ben Simmons has once again been overlooked for the NBA All-Star game with Charlotte Hornets Kemba Walker being selected as a replacement for injured New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis who tore his ACL this week.
Walker will join Team LeBron despite the fact Simmons averages more rebounds, assists, steals and blocks this season than Walker.
Simmons clearly wasn’t happy the decision and moments after the announcement was made he sent out a humorous gif of Stanley Hudson from the 2000s sitcom The Office rolling his eyes.
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) February 8, 2018
The 21-year-old is currently averaging 17 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, only Simmons, Magic Johnson and Oscar Roberton averaged those types of numbers in their rookie seasons.
On Monday, Tim Watts MP voiced his dismay at the fact Simmons had been overlooked for an All-Star invite six times in recent weeks despite players pulling out with injuries
A member of the Australian House of Representatives is outraged that Ben Simmons is not an all-star. Here’s his epic rant: pic.twitter.com/PVeoGhILgl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 7, 2018
Australian centre Andrew Bogut was also surprised by Simmons omission, tweeting: “Wow, Ben Simmons can’t get any love.”
Wow @BenSimmons25 can’t get any love…! ?
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) February 9, 2018
Simmons scored the third-most fan votes among Eastern Conference guards and even received an endorsement from team captain LeBron James.
#NBAVote my lil bro @BenSimmons25! He definitely got next
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 11, 2018
Ben’s 76ers teammate Joel Embiid, who was named to the All-Star team was pretty clear with his thoughts on whether Ben should be joining him on team Lebron.
“I hope they don’t do the same bulls**t, the same mistake they’ve been doing before with the last two guys who got injured,” Embiid told reporters after Simmons dropped 15 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block in 76ers’ win on Wednesday.
No rookie since Blake Griffin in 2011 has played in the annual exhibition game but there is no doubt Simmons will be a part of future All-Star games. In fact, with the Ben Simmons omission creating quite a stir, betting agencies have jumped on board and listed the odds for players to become first-time All-Stars next season.