The NBA All-Star Game is set to take place on Sunday, but Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown won’t be in attendance.
Brown is having an All-Star-caliber season — he’s averaging 23.6 points and a career-high 6.6 rebounds per game while also being a strong force on the defensive end — but wasn’t selected for this year’s game, despite multiple injuries forcing extra selections to be made.
Selections for the All-Star Game are difficult every year and someone always gets snubbed. At the time the rosters were announced the Celtics were floating around the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, leading many to question whether Boston deserved two All-Stars. Jayson Tatum was selected for the third straight year.
The Celtics have turned things around of late and now are in sixth place, but still it likely was a tough sell, despite how impressive Brown has been.
The 25-year-old discussed the snub after Wednesday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons and it doesn’t sound like it’s getting to him.
“It is what it is,” Brown said. “I’m not really disappointed. Like I said before, I’m not losing sleep. I think that my ability on both sides of the ball speaks for itself. I’m not going to knock any of those guys, congratulations to them. But, I think it seems situational, to be honest. I think maybe some other things go into it that maybe you don’t know about right now. For me, (Tatum) will hold it down for the both of us. It’s not that big of a deal, to be honest. More important for us is to continue to win games and get ready for the playoffs. Obviously, I think I deserve it, but that’s life. It is what it is.”
Even with the loss to Detroit, the Celtics have played so well lately that it’s led some even to wonder if this team could go all the way to the NBA Finals this season.
Not making the All-Star Game obviously isn’t a great feeling, but Brown and the Celtics have plenty more to play for the rest of the way.
Plus there surely will be plenty more All-Star selections in Brown’s future.
