A piece of unfortunate news shocked the Charlotte Hornets organization and its supporters on Thursday, as LaMelo Ball failed to secure a starting spot in the All-Star Game despite being the guard who received the most votes from fans. He had around 400,000 more votes than Donovan Mitchell.
Even Ball's peers have shown appreciation for what he has done this season. Based on the results of the players who cast their ballots, the Hornets star places third behind Mitchell and Jalen Brunson.
However, the deal breaker was the media votes. For some reason, the voters didn't appear to think that he deserved to be a starter in the midseason showcase. The flashy point guard ranked just seventh among all backcourt candidates. As a result, Mitchell and Brunson got the nod, with Ball finishing behind them in the race.
All-Star voting format needs to change after LaMelo Ball disrespect
Many Hornets fans are probably frustrated with how the voting went, as there is absolutely no way the media thought six other guards were more deserving to be an All-Star starter.
Charlotte may be culpable in the outcome, as it was unable to field a better roster around Ball, and the respondents likely penalized the 2021 Rookie of the Year for the squad's lowly record. A counter to that point is that winning shouldn't matter as much in All-Star voting as it does in determining the All-NBA selections.
It's also worth noting that injuries have played a key role in the team's struggles this season. Even Melo had missed several games, which probably factored into the snub from the media voters.
Still, the chief reason Ball couldn't become the first Hornet since Kemba Walker to start in the All-Star Game is that the media doesn't respect him enough. If he really didn't warrant the distinction, he wouldn't have gotten nearly two million votes from fans and earned the approval of other players.
Charles Barkley turned some heads during TNT's All-Star announcement broadcast when he said he probably watched just one Hornets contest this season. So, it stands to reason that several members from the media, including those who had a ballot in the All-Star voting, also don't get to see Buzz City in action.
Consequently, they fail to realize that Ball has performed better than most of the other East guards and that his play style is perfectly suited for the All-Star Game.
Perhaps it's time to change the voting format and stop giving the media that significant of a voice for an event that primarily caters to the fans and the players.