LeBron James' 22nd consecutive All-Star appearance was suddenly in jeopardy last week when James wasn't named a Western Conference All-Star starter.
With LeBron being named a reserve on Sunday, however, everyone can breathe easy. Unless you are Kawhi Leonard, who wasn't named a reserve despite having had a far superior season to LeBron by virtually every measure possible.
Did LeBron just steal Kawhi's All-Star spot? Indeed, and even more nefariously, this is the second year in a row James has pulled this off, as he took a spot from a deserving Norman Powell last season.
LeBron James just unjustly made the All-Star Game over Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi's numbers and overall impact far exceed LeBron's this year. Leonard is averaring 27.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 35 games this season. Compare that with LeBron: 21.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game in 31 contests.
You can't really pull out the "team success" card in favor of LeBron, either. The Clippers might be a Play-In team at the moment, but the Lakers are just a half game away from being one themselves.
Last season, Powell (then a Clipper) was absolutely on fire in the first half of the season, having the best year of his career. Through his first 45 games, Powell was averaging 24.2 points on 50-43-82 shooting splits.
It's not that LeBron's numbers were far worse than Powell's; it's that Bron waited until the day of last year's All-Star Game to announce that he wasn't playing in it. Fans immediately criticized the move, pointing to the fact that James could have created a spot for a guy like Powell had he made the announcement earlier.
It was a valid argument against LeBron, just as it's completely valid that Leonard should be an All-Star this season. In both cases, the Clippers ended up on the short end. Even more unfortunate, this year's All-Star festivities are taking place on the Clippers' home floor.
Then again, anyone "blaming" LeBron for this year's Kawhi snub is off-base. Why couldn't the NBA have figured out a way to include LeBron and Kawhi in the game?
Obviously, Kawhi's having a better season. However, we all know that LeBron's exclusion from the event would have made no sense from a marketing standpoint.
The NBA messed this up. Leonard got absolutely screwed out of a spot here, and he deserves far better treatment, considering all that he's contributed to the league.