National reaction to Luka Doncic being named an All-Star starter over Portland’s Damian Lillard

Thursday night the NBA announced Luka Doncic will start in the 2021 All-Star game. The second consecutive season he has been named a starter.

Which was all well and good except for he beat out Portland’s Damian Lillard for the spot. Even worse in some fans eyes, Doncic and Lillard were tied for the spot, and the tie-breaker was fan votes. Lillard finished second in both player and media votes while Doncic was third in both. Donic was second in fan votes and Lillard was third.

If you haven’t spent very much time on Twitter, it may surprise you to learn that there exists a contingent of NBA fans who believe Doncic is overrated.

The group of Doncic deniers has grown more vocal this season after the Mavs’ young guard was declared the favorite to win this year’s regular-season MVP. They saw this as a premature coronation of Doncic, and when the Mavericks went on two separate losing streaks that spanned nearly three weeks from January to February, they felt vindicated.

Pair that with the even bigger collection of NBA fans that believe Lillard is the most underappreciated star in the NBA (and they have a point, just ask LeBron James), and you got a perfect storm of hot takes from NBA fans, analysts, former and current players, and more.

Here’s a look at the national reaction to Doncic being named an All-Star starter over Lillard:

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