Comparing Charlotte Hornets’ Point Guard, Kemba Walker, to the All-Star Point Guards

Some believe that Charlotte Hornets’ point guard, Kemba Walker, was snubbed from the All-Star Game this season but are those opinions justified?

The Charlotte Hornets have not had an NBA All-Star since Gerald Wallace made the 2010 Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve. The team and fans were hoping that point guard, Kemba Walker, would make the team this season but those hopes didn’t come to fruition.

Kemba was left off of the Eastern Conference reserves after not being voted in by the fans as a starter. Three other point guards were named to the team over Walker this year. This means that one was voted in by fans (popularity) and two others were chosen by the Eastern Conference coaches over Kemba Walker.

The three point guards that made the all-star team over Kemba were Toronto Raptors’ point guard, Kyle Lowry, who was voted in as a starter by the fans. Washington Wizards’ point guard, John Wall, and Boston Celtics’ point guard, Isaiah Thomas, were picked as reserves by the Eastern Conference coaches.

Many believed that Walker was snubbed of an all-star game appearance but are those assumptions justified?

More from Swarm and Sting

• Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
• Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
• Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
• Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
• Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?

Kemba Walker is having the best season of his career so far this year and he is playing at an all-star level. But the other players that made it over him also have a strong case for their All-Star selections.

Every one of these players probably deserves an all-star spot but there are only a limited number of roster spots. The point guard position is also one of the most talent rich positions in the NBA today and that makes it that much harder.

Here is a comparison of the four players stat lines over the first half of the season:

Kyle Lowry – 21.0 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.9 RPG, 42.5% FG, 39.2% 3P, 85.7% FT, 2.2 SPG, 2.9 TO, 57.9% TS, 36.8 MPG, Team Record (35-17) 2nd in the East. VOTED IN

Isaiah Thomas – 21.5 PPG, 6.6 APG, 3.0 RPG, 42.3% FG, 34.7% 3P, 89.7% FT, 1.2 SPG, 2.7 TO, 56.0% TS, 32.5 MPG, Team record (32-23) 3rd in the East. RESERVE

John Wall – 20.0 PPG, 9.9 APG, 4.5 RPG, 42.8% FG, 35.0 % 3P, 78.4% FT, 2.1 SPG, 4.3 TO, 51.4% TS, 36.1 MPG, Team Record (23-28) 10th in the East. RESERVE

Kemba Walker – 20.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.4 RPG, 42.3% FG, 36.5% 3P, 85.1% FT, 1.8 SPG, 2.2 TO, 54.0 % TS, 35.8 MPG, Team Record (27-26) 8th in the East. SNUBBED?!

As you can see, most of the stats from these four players are very similar in almost every statistical category. Many said that the Charlotte Hornets’ record was what hurt Kemba’s all-star case but John Wall was able to make it with his team having a losing record.

He is almost averaging a double-double with 9.9 assists so he had one of the strongest statistical advantages over the other point guards. This will be Wall’s third all-star game as he has made the cut in the previous two seasons.

Lowry has the record advantage over the other players by leading his team to the second seed in the Eastern Conference but there isn’t too much speculation over his selection due to the fact that he was voted in by the fans. Lowry will start for the East and this will be his second appearance in the All-Star Game.

Thomas will be making his first All-Star Game appearance this season and it is much deserved. He has surprisingly led his team to the third best record in the Eastern Conference. He has the highest scoring total in points per game of any point guard in the East.

Kemba Walker has obviously had a career year and it would’ve been nice to see him make an all-star team but the point guard position is a deep one and it is tough to crack into. He also has the lowest assists per game of these players which is big for most point guards.

You can make a strong argument for Kemba to be the first All-Star for the Charlotte Hornets since 2010 but you can also do the same for any of the other three players. I don’t think you can easily put Walker over any of these other players because their statistics are just too similar. But if Kemba were to have made it over any of them, I don’t think you could say that they should have been put above him as well.

Next: MKG Suffers Torn Right Labrum

Check back with Swarm and Sting for the latest news, updates, and analysis for your Charlotte Hornets.