Each week during the 2022-23 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether the trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.
[Last week on Fact or Fiction: Does the NBA have a load management problem?]
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving enters the final weekend of fan voting for the NBA All-Star Game with the highest tally at his position in the Eastern Conference, which has translated to a starting gig every time since the league took 50% of that decision away from fans and split it among media and players in 2017.
In other words, a player who platformed antisemitism and refused to apologize for or condemn it on multiple occasions — to the point that the Nets determined him to be “currently unfit to be associated with” them, and the Anti-Defamation League would not “in good conscience accept his donation” — may well be a forward-facing representative of the NBA’s best and brightest on a global stage mere months afterward.
I understand he apologized in an Instagram post he has since deleted, although he never explained “the specific beliefs in the documentary I agreed with.” I understand he appeared contrite in a news conference prior to his return from an eight-game suspension, although hours later he refused to condemn a group of his supporters outside Barclays Center who were expressing the same antisemitic beliefs held in the film.
This got him back on the court, where he has averaged 25.8 points (48/35/91 shooting splits), 4.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 33 games this season. Neither the coerced apology nor his performance guarantees him an All-Star roster spot, starting or not. To elevate him as a face of the league so soon after he perpetuated “hate speech” sends a far worse message than one informing him he cannot participate in this exhibition.
The All-Star Game is an honor, not a right. I would listen to an argument that he should participate if his future earnings are tied to his selection, but they are not, and even then I may not support his candidacy. (I am also not among the 100 media members voting for All-Star starters. This is just a strong-held opinion.)
It is unclear if Irving deserves an All-Star nod based on his play on the court this season. It is clear he does not warrant a starting spot, and the statistical case against him making the roster entirely is relatively easy.
Take the top 10 guards in the conference this season — a list…