CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — Despite having the support of NBA fans, Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was not named a starter in the All-Star Game.
The league announced the five starters representing each conference Thursday night. The Eastern Conference guards are the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell.
Ball was the top fan vote-getter among Eastern Conference guards, representing 50 percent of the vote, but the NBA also uses media and players’ votes to determine starters, where he was third and seventh, respectively. Those comprise 25 percent each if the total tally.
The coaches get to pick will make the teams as a reserve. Those players will be announced on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
Ball is fourth in the NBA in scoring at 29 points per game, while also tallying 7.5 assists per game, good for eighth. His 122 3-pointers are 15th in the league.
All three stats, plus steals per game, are better than Brunson’s numbers.
Ball was named an All-Star in 2022, and has a significantly higher scoring average this season.