The 2025 NBA All-Star reserves have been named, completing the Eastern and Western Conference rosters. Many players received their first All-Star selection while others are returning to the event. However, there has been uproar among NBA fans about certain players who were not selected.
There are All-Star snubs every season, but this year there are some that feel egregious. Trae Young and Domantas Sabonis are the biggest offenses. Young leads the NBA in assists and Sabonis leads in rebounds. Both players are having career seasons but will not have an All-Star selection to show for it.
Eastern Conference All-Star Snubs
Young has played excellently this season, averaging 22.5 points and 11.4 assists per game. While the Atlanta Hawks have struggled amid a losing streak and Jalen Johnson’s season-ending injury, Young has played well. His assist numbers lead the NBA and are a career-high, and while the Hawks are up and down, they’ve had incredible highs. They are one of the only teams who can say they’ve beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics multiple times.
Young’s scoring numbers are down compared to previous seasons, but his playmaking has never been better and is overlooked by wide swaths of the NBA. There are a couple of players in the Eastern Conference that Young could have made it over. One of them is Tyler Herro. Herro is having a great season, averaging 24.1 points per game. He has become the top option on the Miami Heat with all the Jimmy Butler drama. That does mean though he should get an All-Star selection over Young.
Another All-Star is Jaylen Brown. Brown is a big name and former Finals MVP, averaging 23.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He is shooting career-worst percentages, and many believe his selection is based on name value rather than performance.
Another snub in the Eastern Conference was LaMelo Ball. Ball was one of the leaders among fan voting and is averaging 28.2 points and 7.3 assists per game. The big knock for Ball is that he’s putting up these numbers on the Charlotte Hornets, who are one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.
Western Conference Snubs
In the Western Conference, Sabonis is the biggest snub. He’s averaging 20.9 points per game and 14.5 rebounds, which leads the NBA. He has played an integral role in the Sacramento Kings turnaround and has been one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the NBA. Sabonis is putting up career-high numbers in scoring and rebounding but will have no All-Star selection to show for it. If he continues to put up the same statistics throughout the season, he could be one of the few players to miss an All-Star selection but make an All-NBA Team.
The two big names that made it over Sabonis are Alperen Sengun and Jalen Williams. Sengun plays the same position, but is averaging fewer points, rebounds, and assists than Sabonis while shooting a worse field goal percentage. Sengun also pays for the Houston Rockets, who are the second seed in the Western Conference. So, despite Sabonis having better numbers in every category, Sengun is earning the bid because of his team’s success. Meanwhile, Williams averages 21.1 points and is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Still, Sabonis is having an excellent season, so it is a shame that it will not be recognized with an All-Star selection.
Final Thoughts
The NBA All-Star selections have been made, and the biggest snubs are Young and Sabonis, as well as Ball. The fact that the league leaders in rebounds and assists are not all stars while also averaging over 20 points per game has fans up in arms. With only 12 spots, and the league getting more talented every year, more career defining seasons are going unrecognized.
