No Raptors On the NBA Fan All-Star Voting List May Be a Blessing in Disguise

Toronto Raptors fans might be on to something.

If any Raptors players are going to make the All-Star Game this season it isn’t going to because of Raptors fans. When the NBA released its first batch of fan votes for the All-Star Game there wasn’t a single Raptors player on the list.

Not only weren’t any Raptors players included, but the list included players who clearly aren’t all-star worthy this season. Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and even Klay Thompson who hasn’t played a single game this season due to an Achilles’ tear all made the first list. Normally that would be a bad sign for the Raptors and a knock against Raptors fans who should be able to muster enough votes to get at least one player into All-Star Game consideration. This year, however, having no All-Stars might not be such a bad thing.

The fact that the NBA feels the need to bring the league’s top players together for an All-Star Game during a pandemic is entirely irresponsible. For so long the league has tried to be an example for the greater public and, frankly, it nailed it with the NBA Bubble last summer, but this is quite simply a money grab and a bad look. Even some of the league’s best players don’t think it’s worth it to bring host an All-Star Game this season.

“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said Thursday night. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.

“I’ll be there if I’m selected. But I’ll be there physically, but not mentally.”

For the Raptors, the possibility of having nobody selected to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2013 could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The risk of getting COVID-19 while quarantining at home would see far lower than meeting with players from the rest of the NBA for a meaningless All-Star Game. Add to that the fact that the Raptors will be able to rest up for the week after a truncated offseason and the benefits of having no All-Stars selected this year might outweigh the traditional fun of an All-Star selection.

So keep at it Raptors fans, feel free not to vote for any Raptors this season.

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