As the All-Star starters were announced on January 19th, there were some noticeable absences in both the East and the West. It’s always tough to make the choices to pick five from each conference, and it showed again this year.
In the Eastern Conference, Donovan Mitchell was left off the first five. He was voted #6 by all three of the players, media, and fans.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the same thing happened with Anthony Edwards. Voted inside the top five by the fans, players and media had him just on the outside. All of those things combined to place him in the #7 spot, just behind Deni Avdija and Victor Wembanyama.
Edwards has bene an All-Star for each of the past three seasons, and is essentially a lock to be picked as a reserve. Tough decisions were made, and he was left on the outside.
One of his Timberwolves teammates weighed in. Read on for more.
Bones Hyland Weighs In On Anthony Edwards Snub
Bones Hyland has been playing good basketball for the Timberwolves this year. After nearly finding himself out of the league, he latched on last season in Minnesota, and has become a key rotational piece this season.
Hyland and Edwards have been close, with the latter making it known he wanted the team to keep the former when his contract was up over the summer.
Hyland took to X to show his support for Edwards falling short. He posted a tweet saying “Lmao yeah right 😂😂👎”. It’s clear that he believes his teammate should have been among the first five, and had some thoughts to share.
However good he has been this season, it was tough to get over the hump of Stephen Curry , Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander . Three players also at a superhuman level with popularity that is extremely difficult to compare to.
Edwards poured in 55 points the last time he suited up for the Wolves, and has been able to have bursts like that throughout this season.
Minnesota, despite losing their past two games, sits at #4 in a very crowded Western Conference. Edwards is averaging nearly 30 points per game while making 50% of his shots. It is the sixth season in for him to start his career that he has raised his points per game average.
On To The Next for Anthony Edwards and Minnesota
Dominant as he has been this season, Anthony Edwards will be coming off the bench in the newly formatted NBA All-Star game. It obviously won’t play a part in team succss, but may just serve to push him to work even harder.
There wasn’t a way to be any better than he was, and knowing that the league is a popularity contest, he’ll continue to play his game. Edwards has guided Minnesota to consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals, something nobody else in franchise history ever did.
As far as popularity does go, this is the first time since 2003-04 that LeBron James isn’t starting in the All-Star Game. Steve Francis, and Yao Ming were among the guys starting then. A lot has changed.
@houseofhighlights LeBron’s 21 year All-Star starting streak is over 👀🚨#nba #lebron #allstar #dunk #lakers
The only thing that matters for Minnesota at this point is going for the title. Bones Hyland had his teammate’s back, and the team chemistry here has never been higher. Many more wins will befall the Wolves, with Anthony Edwards leading the way.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us .
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Anthony Edwards’ Teammate Weighs In On All-Star Starter Snub appeared first on Heavy Sports .