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John Wall remained 7th in the second round of NBA All-Star fan voting returns on Thursday. That result is certainly a disappointment because he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the month in December. What gives?
At a macro level, Wall does not receive the same level of NBA fan support as some other guards like Kyrie Irving or Dwyane Wade receive. But where specifically do Wizards fans stand when it comes to voting for players into the All-Star Game?
I’ll show you two extremes: “the fan who knows no bounds” and “the fan of integrity.”
The fan who knows no bounds
If you’re a fan who knowns no bounds, you are probably voting for every player on the team, star or 15th man, for the All-Star Game.
Pros: You ride or die with your team. Every player is going to get a vote from you during the voting period at some point during the process.
For Wizards standards, everyone, including reserves like Marcus Thornton,
@jakewhitacre @alyndanoel @TheRealOshin97_ Marcus Thornton #NBAVOTE
— Albert L. (@aleeinthedmv) January 6, 2017
or Danuel House,
Danuel House #NBAVOTE because ... he's on the Wizards
— Albert L. (@aleeinthedmv) December 26, 2016
will get a vote from you.
Cons: You only have 10 votes a day per social media platform. So if you tweet 20 times, only your first 10 NBA votes for a different player count. The only time your 11th through 20th votes count is if some retweets your tweet or shares your post.
Second, why are you voting for a player who doesn’t play much? After all, he has little to no chance of making the All-Star game barring something crazy. And by something crazy, I’m talking about Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift voting for that player every day.
Third, we could see some funky results in early returns, especially if that player has a significant following. For example, here are the second round of All-Star Returns:
The latest #NBAAllStar Voting presented by @Verizon returns!
— 2017 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) January 12, 2017
Vote: https://t.co/7SYpaqHa1f & the NBA App. pic.twitter.com/SXXAebaxx9
From the returns above, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia would start the game if the starting lineups were completely dependent on fan voting.
Though Pachulia is Golden State’s starting center, very few people would tell you that he’s better than other centers like DeMarcus Cousins, Karl-Anthony Towns, or even rookie Joel Embiid. Many, if not most of his votes are coming from the fact that he is playing for one of the NBA’s most rabid fanbases. In addition, you can make a case that his Georgian nationality plays a part toward his bloated vote total.
Though Pachulia is a starter on his team, some of the above tweets were for reserves. If you vote for reserves, some people may think you aren’t serious when with some of those tweets.
@aleeinthedmv @jakewhitacre @TheRealOshin97_ ALBERT
— Lyndie (@alyndanoel) January 6, 2017
The “fan of integrity”
You want to give votes only to the players who “deserve it.” They must be among the league’s best to earn your confidence to go to the All-Star Game. Sure this game is about sending in the best NBA players, but shouldn’t fans do their homework first before writing in those ballots?
Pros: You are someone who votes for a player who is clearly doing everything in his power to win.
John Wall #NBAVOTE, because w/o his 18 points & 18 assists on Friday, the Wizards would've lost to the Timberwolves https://t.co/x1YiShCtMq
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) January 8, 2017
Cons: If your team isn’t performing well, then you may not be voting for anyone on your favorite team. For Wizards fans, that could mean that you’re withholding votes from some Wizards players, even if they perform well during losses. Yes, Wall, is 7th in the backcourt voting standings as of Thursday’s returns. But is that partly because some fans aren’t voting for him unless he scores a ridiculous amount of points or dishes many assists?
Unfortunately, no other Wizards player ranks in the Top 10 of the second round returns. Is it because the Wizards don’t have the Warriors’ fanbase? Or is it because the Wizards fans feel that Beal has to score 40 points and dish 15 assists in order to earn a vote from the fans here in the DMV?
Where do you stand?
There is no right or wrong answer to All-Star voting. This game is ultimately for the fans, and they should have a say in regard to which players make the lineup.
I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m going to vote for every Wizards player at least once during the NBA All-Star Game fan voting period. That said, I’m not voting for every player every day. It would be interesting to see where you all stand with this.
And by the way, the fan voting stops on Monday, January 16. So go rock the #NBAVOTE for John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter, Marcin Gortat, and every player on D.C.’s NBA team!