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The NBA All-Star team has been announced and Julius Randle is representing the New York Knicks in this year’s event, but many people, Charles Barkley included, believed Jalen Brunson should be there joining him.
“I’m kind of shocked Jalen Brunson didn’t make it,” he said. “I think this is one of the best free agent signings in a long time. Congratulations to all those guys, I’m not saying take anybody off. I thought Jalen Brunson deserved to make this team.
After the Knicks win over the Boston Celtics on January 26, Barkley asked if Brunson was the best signing of the past 20 years, so it’s clear the Hall of Famer is a big fan of the Knicks point guard.
Brunson has never been named to an All-Star team, and his debut season in New York has represented his best shot so far in his career to make the roster. On the year he’s averaging 22.8 PPG along with 6.2 APG, both career highs as he’s playing a bigger role. The point guard has played a huge role in turning around the Knicks from last season, but it wasn’t enough to be named to his first All-Star team.
Was Jalen Brunson Snubbed?
In order for somebody to be considered a snub, it would have to mean somebody has to be taken off the team. For many fans, that player would be Milwaukee Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday.
“Jrue Holiday over Jalen Brunson and even Harden is nuts,” tweeted actor Julito McCullum.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Holiday’s nine seasons between All-Star selections is the longest gap for any player in history. To his credit, he’s having a good season for the Bucks with averages of 19.4 PPG, 7.2 APG, and 5.3 RPG.
The fact the Bucks are the second seed in the East might’ve played a role in why Holiday was chosen over Brunson. The Knicks are 27-25 on the year while the Bucks are 34-17.
Tyrese Haliburton Picked Over Brunson
Former NBA player turned analyst Wally Szczerbiak ripped Haliburton on December 19 after the Knicks secured a victory over the Pacers by calling him a “wannabe fake All-Star.”
“Mister supposed wannabe fake All-Star with a big miss,” he said as he recapped the game. “Last chance, down three, for the wannabe All-Star, we’ll keep it that way. He’s a very good player, he’s not going to make the All-Star team. Guys like Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson will make it over Tyrese Haliburton, and tonight we saw why.”
While he was correct in his assessment of Randle making it, Haliburton ended up getting the last laugh over Brunson. Haliburton’s appearance, the first of his career, shouldn’t come as a big surprise as the guard has been turning out a tremendous year.
So far, he’s averaging 20.2 PPG to go along with a league-leading 10.2 APG. The Pacers are sitting at 24-28 on the season which is just enough to put them in the running for the play-in tournament. Haliburton was traded from the Sacramento Kings before last season’s trade deadline in exchange for former Pacers standout Domantas Sabonis, another fellow All-Star.
Haliburton has been dealing with an injury that caused him to miss 10 straight games before returning against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 2, so there’s a chance he could take the time to get healthy and that would allow Brunson to sneak in as a replacement.
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