The Los Angeles Lakers have an exciting young roster filled with All-Star potential, but how many of them–if any–will make the big game in their careers?
On Sunday night, NBA fans got the opportunity to watch the best of the best go at it in the All-Star game. East versus West. Red versus blue. God versus Man, DAY versus NI … sorry, I was watching Dawn of Justice earlier today. Great movie. I’m sure everyone would agree! Anyway, back to the All-Star game.
For the first time in 20 years, the Los Angeles Lakers did not have a player voted in the All-Star game. In 1997, Shaquille O’Neal made the All-Star game in his first year with the Purple and Gold and was a lock every year until he was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. Kobe Bryant joined the Diesel in the 1998 All-Star game, along with Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. After that, Bryant was voted as a starter in every All-Star game for the following 18 years–an NBA record.
But Kobe’s gone, making movies and finding new ways to make millions of dollars and Shaq can found in the studio with Kenny, Ernie and Chuck on Inside the NBA.
So when will fans get to see another Laker in the All-Star game? Unfortunately, not anytime soon.
The Lakers have one of the better young teams in the NBA, headlined by No. 2 overall picks D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram, as well as the No. 7 pick in the 2014 draft, Julius Randle. They also got lucky with their late draft finds in Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson and most recently Iviza Zubac. Despite their All-Star potential, it is highly unlikely any of them suit up for the Western Conference All-Stars within the next decade.
That’s not to say they won’t be All-Star caliber players, there’s just a very slim chance they make the All-Star game.
We’ve seen players like Mike Conley, Derrick Favors, Serge Ibaka, and even Damian Lillard get snubbed from the big game because of the absurd amount of talent in the Western Conference. Particularly the absurd amount of young talent.
The times are a-changin' ...This is the first time since 2004-05 no player over 33 has been selected to the All Star Game.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 20, 2017
Four of the 24 players selected to participate in this year’s All-Star game were no older than 25 years of age. If you increase the age just a bit to 27, you get an astounding 14 players under the age of 27 on the team. That means in 2027, some of these guys will still be in their prime. Insane.
That’s not even mentioning the handful of young players that are already putting up All-Star numbers like Rudy Gobert, C.J. McCollum, Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Andrew Wiggins–all currently under the age of 25.
A number of those players–Towns, Embiid, Porzingis and Wiggins–were drafted the same years Russell and Ingram were drafted, meaning the young Lakers are already well behind the learning curve. While I have very little doubt they will reach that potential, it might be too little, too late for their All-Star aspirations–at least in the near future.
Unless the Lakers sign a superstar in free agency or give up pieces to acquire on in the trade market, I wouldn’t bank on anyone representing the Lakers in Sunday night’s big game anytime soon.
Next: Sweet Lou headed to D.C.?
But what do you guys think? Is there anyone on the Lakers that can match Kobe’s 18 All-Star appearances? Who is the most likely to make the All-Star game? Let us know in the comments below!