Are You Freaking Kidding Me?

How in the world does Allen Iverson get to start the NBA All-Star game and Dirk Nowitzki doesn't? What is wrong with this picture? As much as I am a basketball junkie and it pains me to say this, the answer is plain and simple: the problem is the fans.

NBA fans, as a whole, don't apply logic or reason when choosing their All-Star candidates. They don't watch extra games or check the box scores or even compare player statistics. Generally, fans tend to vote for either their hometown heroes on the ballot or for their favorite players, regardless of whether or not said players actually deserve to play with the best of the best. Many of today's NBA fans, who are accustomed to the SportsCenter world where an entire game is summed up in a 90second sequence of highlights, have come to value flash and flair over style and substance. Showy players like LeBron and Kobe continually end up on the highlight reels, while consistent hardworking players like Dirk and Jason Kidd are all but forgotten.

I was stunned and heartbroken to learn that, even though he had been second among Western conference forwards in each of the preliminary voting results, Dirk once again fell short of being elected by the fans as an All-Star starter. I thought that for once, this would be his year, and he would finally get the recognition and fan love he deserved, right here in front of his home crowd. But again, NBA fans everywhere disappointed me. It's not that I have a problem with Tim Duncan beating out Dirk, but CARMELO ANTHONY? Seriously? Am I the only fan left in America who still cares what type of person a player is off the court? I find it hard to believe that I am, until I see men of questionable character being rewarded yet again, and all I can do is shake my head and sigh.

As much as it aggravates me to see Anthony elected over Nowitzki, it doesn't compare to my utter annoyance at the fact that Allen Iverson was chosen to start in the East. He played in only three games in Memphis before leaving town and heading back to Philadelphia, where he has averaged roughly 15 points and 4.5 assists through 16 games. Not even taking his less than stellar basketball statistics into account, Iverson is another player with a checkered past and questionable character, who the fans have yet again decided to reward with a starting role.

Although I am a self-procalimed basketball junkie and an extremely passionate fan who loves to have my voice be heard, as long as the starters are chosen strictly on the basis of fan voting, injustices such as this will continue to happen. Why not institute some sort of standards which require a player to appear in a minimum number of games in order to qualify to be an All-Star? Or a system that requires voters to demonstrate some degree of basketball knowledge before casting their votes? The All-Star game is supposed to be about showcasing the best the NBA has to offer, not just a giant popularity contest, which is essentially what it has become.