The NBA All-Star Game has slowly become one of the most popular contests. If you haven’t seen it, here are the starting lineups and reserves for the NBA All-Star:

West:

Starters: PG Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
SG Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
SF Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
PF Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
C Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)

East:

Starters: PG Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics)
SG Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)
SF LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
PF Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
C Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
Allen Iverson (Philadelhia 76ers)

And here is a list of the players with the top votes behind them:

Guards / Equipment / Votes
Vince Carter Magical Orlando 1,048,977
Ray Allen Boston Celtics 710,045
Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls 571,911
Gilbert Arenas Washington Wizards 545,860
Joe Johnson Atlanta Falcons 496,255

Forwards / Team / Votes
Chris Bosh Toronto Raptors 1,164,007
Paul Pierce Boston Celtics 525,677
Josh Smith Atlanta Falcons 475,671
Andre Iguodala Philadelphia 76ers 313,827
Danny Granger Indiana Pacers 309,808

Centers / Teams / Votes
Shaquille O’Neal Cleveland Cavaliers 856,056
Al Horford Atlanta Falcons 270,532
Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors 265,024

Other Players Receiving Votes (West)
Guard Team Votes
Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 1,055,789
Tracy McGrady Houston Rockets 1,022,492
Aaron Brooks Houston Rockets 591,930
Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks 523,708
Manu Ginobili San Antonio Spurs 465,211

Forwards / Team / Votes
Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 1,093,005
Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers 1,051,784
Kevin Durant Okl City Thunder 870,567
Trevor Ariza Houston Rockets 645,937
Luis Scola Houston Rockets 580,243

Centers / Teams / Votes
Andrew Bynum Los Angeles Lakers 981,355
Nene Denver Nuggets 364,543
Marc GasolMemphis Grizzlies 353,155

Okay, now does my title make sense? Obviously, for the media, tickets and television, this makes sense because people choose who they want to see. However, it is also quite stupid. Here is the definition of Athlete: It consists of athletes chosen as the best in their positions from all teams in a league or region.

So how does a player like Iverson start? I really like Iverson, he’s by far one of the best point guards in history, but not this year. How can he be the starting PG with stats like this: 14.4 PPG, 4.4 APG, only 19 total games played, and his team is 14-28? Yes, he is good, but in no way does he deserve to start.

I’m still not convinced this is a popularity contest, look at the T-Mac votes. He is my favorite player in the NBA, but it would be a terrible joke to say that he deserves to be on the list. To make matters worse, T-Mac outvoted Nash until last week. T-Mac has played in 6 complete games this year, averaging just 7.7 min in each of those games, with 3.2 PPG and just 1.0 APG.

And there are other examples of players who are also up there because they are more popular than others. So ask yourself: is it fair that these players who were great a couple of years ago are pushed ahead of the players who have earned it this year? After all, isn’t this a game to reward players who have played the best this year? Otherwise, I think next year I could vote for Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley.