3 hours Ago By Ishaan Bhattacharya, NBA Analysis Network
Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban went off on the NBA All-Star selections after Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic didn’t make the cut. The NBA has announced the full list of 24 players who will be participating in the 2025 NBA All-Star game. The starters for each Conference had been announced a week ago while the reserves were announced last night, The All-Star participants from the East include Jalen Brunson , Donovan Mitchell , Jayson Tatum , Giannis Antetokounmpo , Karl-Anthony Towns , Darius Garland , Damian Lillard , Jaylen Brown , Evan Mobley , Tyler Herro , Cade Cunningham , and Pascal Siakam .
The West will have Stephen Curry , Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , LeBron James , Kevin Durant , Nikola Jokic , Victor Wembanyama , Anthony Davis , Anthony Edwards , Jalen Williams , James Harden , Jaren Jackson Jr ., and. Alperen Sengun represent them.
The absence of Dallas Mavericks duo Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is surprising to see. The Mavericks are the only team with over 25 wins this season to not have a single representative at the All-Star Game. While there are reasons for this development, former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban is not happy.
Mark Cuban taunts the NBA after the Mavericks’ duo were not selected Cuban spent over two decades as the Governor of the Dallas Mavericks before selling majority ownership to Miriam Adelson last season. He ceded his position as Governor to Patrick Dumont and lost his permanent courtside seats this season. He’s stayed away from discussing the NBA, but the All-Star results incensed the 66-year-old.
“Those TV ratings for All-Star are gonna be crazy...
NBA gonna NBA. INSANE (that) Luka and Kai aren’t going.” Those tv ratings for All Star are gonna be crazy.
.. Lol NBA gonna NBA JUST INSANE Luka and Kai aren't going https://t.
co/cds3jkIzDB Cuban butted heads with the NBA all the time when he was a full-time Governor. However, the decision to leave Irving and Doncic off the list isn’t really in the league’s hands. The voting process for the All-Star game was the same as always, with Doncic and Irving not fulfilling the voting criteria.
Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.
8 assists this season but only played 22 games. Irving is averaging 24.2 points, 4.
6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists this season. His case as a snub is a lot stronger.
Doncic simply didn’t play enough to warrant a selection, though it seems Irving lost out in the West despite being worthy of a call-up. There have to be All-Star snubs every season No matter who makes it, the conversations about All-Star snubs happen every year. Irving and Doncic aren’t the only players to have missed out on a spot this season.
In the West, another star guard Devin Booker didn’t make it. Frontcourt star Domantas Sabonis also had his name left off the list. In the Eastern Conference, Trae Young is reeling from a third consecutive All-Star snub.
He’s even joked on social media about renaming the word snub to his first name because of how often it happens to him. The nature of All-Star selection will always bring more players in contention than the 24 who wind up being named. LaMelo Ball was the vote leader among the guards.
Even that wasn’t enough to bring the Charlotte Hornets guard to the All-Star Game. The NBA weighs votes from fans, players, and media for the starters while the coaches select the reserves. Naturally, some players don’t appeal to coaches around the NBA and wind up having to fight bias.
Irving and Booker were edged out by James Harden and Jalen Williams despite comparable production. Domantas Sabonis’ counting stats being better than Alperen Sengun’s didn’t help. The Turkish center was voted as a reserve ahead of Sabonis based on team record.
Many of these snubbed players could still make the game as injury replacements, so we can’t rule out their participation. However, it’s clear that their peers and coaches didn’t view them as All-Stars despite the strong seasons they’re having. This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.
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