The next 3 Hornets to make the all-star game
By Ben Handler
The NBA All-Star game takes place on Sunday night, and for the second straight year, there will be no Charlotte Hornets taking part. Even the most biased fan can’t argue this is some injustice, as the team is 13-41, and doesn’t have a player even close to all-star level this season.
Brandon Miller is still a year or two away, LaMelo Ball simply missed way too many games, and Miles Bridges has been good - but not at an all-star level. There’s really nobody else on the team who even warrants more than a second thought for this honor.
For one thing, the competition for the 12 all-star slots in each conference is as stiff as ever. The 12 players selected for the East all play for a top-8-seeded team currently. The two replacements came from the 10th-place Hawks and 12th-place Raptors.
The situation in the West is similar, as no all-stars were selected from teams that aren’t seeded in the top 10. That in itself makes it hard to envision the Hornets getting an all-star. Add that to the fact that no player stood out in a meaningful statistical way, and there was really no argument to be made.
So the biggest thing for the Hornets is obviously to turn things around and start winning some more games next season. But if the team can get themselves back within striking distance of a playoff berth, there’s reason to believe they should be able to have an all-star in the next few years. But who could that player be?