Why Russell Westbrook Doesn’t Deserve to Be an All-Star in 2022

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in the offseason, they were convinced he was the missing piece to help LeBron James get back to the NBA Finals. But halfway through the season, the Lakers are still fighting to avoid the play-in tournament for the second straight year.

Despite Westbrook playing in all 43 games thus far, LA has a losing record and is just 0.5 games ahead of the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. That’s no coincidence. Westbrook is having one of the worst seasons of his lengthy career, and he doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star no matter what the fan votes say.

Russell Westbrook ranks sixth in NBA All-Star fan voting for Western Conference guards

The second update of the NBA All-Star fan voting is in, and there are more than a few head-scratchers on the list. Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant unsurprisingly lead the way with more than four million votes each, but undeserving names such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, and yes, Russell Westbrook, all rank inside the top 10 at their respective positions.

Westbrook has received 576,512 fan votes already, which ranks sixth among Western Conference guards. Only Curry, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Klay Thompson, and Devin Booker have more.

Now, Westbrook isn’t guaranteed a spot in the All-Star Game based on fan votes alone. These votes make up just 50% of the total votes for starters in the game. Players and members of the media make up the other 50%, and that’s just for starters.

NBA head coaches then choose the reserves for both teams, so Westbrook might not make it to Cleveland anyway.

Why Westbrook doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star

Many fans believe Westbrook deserves to be named an All-Star for the 10th time in his career, but his statistics suggest otherwise.

Through 43 games, Westbrook is averaging 18.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game. He hasn’t had a lower scoring average since the 2009-2010 season when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Westbrook is also shooting just 43.8% from the field and 29.1% from three. His 15.4 PER is his worst mark since his rookie year. And the most damning stat of all? Westbrook has a turnover percentage of 18.9% this season, which is the ninth-worst mark in the NBA.

He doesn’t deserve to be in Cleveland this year.

Full fan voting results

We know where Westbrook stands in All-Star fan voting thus far, but what about the rest of the NBA? Let’s check out the current results.

Western Conference

Frontcourt

1. LeBron James – 4,386,392
2. Nikola Jokic – 3,016,380
3. Andrew Wiggins – 1,829,733
4. Paul George – 1,773,447
5. Anthony Davis – 1,342,294
6. Draymond Green – 1,295,848
7. Carmelo Anthony – 886,014
8. Karl-Anthony Towns – 851,033
9. Rudy Gobert – 419,853
10. Deandre Ayton – 344,688

Guards

1. Stephen Curry – 4,463,426
2. Ja Morant – 1,633,313
3. Luka Doncic – 1,410,605
4. Klay Thompson – 749,038
5. Devin Booker – 648,317
6. Russell Westbrook – 576,512
7. Chris Paul – 561,896
8. Donovan Mitchell – 441,247
9. Damian Lillard – 364,217
10. Anthony Edwards – 224,293

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

1. Kevin Durant – 4,088,334
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 3,808,458
3. Joel Embiid – 2,357,404
4. Jayson Tatum – 1,155,591
5. Jimmy Butler – 978,889
6. Jarrett Allen – 341,885
7. Bam Adebayo – 282,512
8. Pascal Siakam – 244,042
9. Miles Bridges – 230,586
10. LaMarcus Aldridge – 216,216

Guards

1. DeMar DeRozan – 2,973,854
2. Trae Young – 1,596,301
3. Zach LaVine – 1,442,571
4. James Harden -1,433,217
5. LaMelo Ball – 694,446
6. Kyrie Irving – 561,103
7. Derrick Rose – 373,039
8. Fred VanVleet – 350,806
9. Darius Garland – 227,813
10. Jaylen Brown – 217,463

Like Sportscasting on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @sportscasting19.

RELATED: Russell Westbrook’s All-Star Voting Numbers Are a Clear Sign Los Angeles Lakers Fans Are Over Him