Everyone was surprised by 1 huge snub in NBA All-Star fan voting
Feb 18, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The NBA logo on the court at Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA on Thursday released the official tally from the first round of fan voting for the 2024 NBA All-Star game. One Western Conference mainstay was left off the list.
LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were predictably the top two vote-getters from their respective conferences. There was also a noticeable shift in power among guards as Steph Curry was surprisingly dethroned from his usual place atop the West’s backcourt elite. The full list of early returns for the 2024 All-Star game can be found here.
Arguably the most surprising result from the voting was the complete absence of Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. Booker, who is widely considered a top-15 player in the NBA, could not even get more votes than 10th-placed Austin Reaves.
Devin Booker was not among the top 10 Western Conference guards after the first All-Star fan voting results 🤯 pic.twitter.com/tEfTJVwgAe
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 4, 2024
Fans were quick to react to the 3-time All-Star’s glaring omission.
For a guy who’s made the finals, dropped 70 points in a game, is in a drake song, and dated Kendall Jenner… Devin Booker has NO MOTION 💀💀 https://t.co/5MmHYQc0cB
— wholesome nba fan (@idcstfumaynee) January 4, 2024
Devin Booker nowhere to be found on that All-Star voting whewwww pic.twitter.com/wjbUFiaC1v
— Niko (@nikotaughtyou) January 4, 2024
The most disrespected player in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/0SA2FmCKEf
— Booker Muse (@DevinBookerMuse) January 4, 2024
Man how do Austin got more votes than Devin Booker ? Come on Phx yall gotta go vote https://t.co/ekg89hPfXp
— Archie Goodwin (@archie_goodwin) January 4, 2024
The biggest knock on Booker might be that he’s only played in 25 of the Suns’ 34 games due to injuries. However, Ja Morant received more votes despite serving a 25-game suspension to start the season. Kyrie Irving has only played in 19 games as well.
Booker has averaged 26.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game on a 47.5% shooting clip so far this season. The Suns guard has objectively outperformed guys like Reaves and Klay Thompson in statistical production by a country mile.
Booker made the first list last season despite missing over a month during the All-Star voting period due to a groin injury. He somehow did even worse this year despite playing more games.
#NBA All-Star voting first returns last year vs this year pic.twitter.com/YcFiZnujg5
— jack (@TheCavsJack) January 4, 2024
More than likely, Booker will still be named an All-Star given that fan voting only impacts the game’s starters. But Suns fans may need to make it up to their star guard by getting some votes in before the next batch of results.
