DALLAS — The wait to learn whether Luka Doncic will make his third consecutive All-Star team will extend another week.
The Mavericks’ 22-year-old superstar wasn’t named an All-Star starter when the NBA announced the top-10 selections for this season Thursday night on TNT.
Doncic missed his chance — for this year, at least — to become the first Maverick to start three All-Star games.
But when head coaches choose the seven reserves from each conference next Thursday, Doncic, triple-doubling and leading a surging Mavericks team over the last month, should be a near lock.
Perhaps Luka didn’t follow his coach’s advice before this year’s All-Star voting closed.
Before the Mavericks’ 132-112 win in Portland on Wednesday night, a reporter asked Jason Kidd to make a case for why he thought Doncic should be an All-Star starter again.
“I don’t even know how the voting goes,” Kidd said.
Fan (50%), player (25%) and media (25%) votes select the starters.
“So just, he’s got to talk to some players, I suppose,” Kidd joked. “Because the [fan] voting, I don’t think he can catch Ja, so he’s going to have to talk to you guys and players.”
Kidd was right: Doncic trailed Curry by over four million fan votes and Morant by about 700,000 at the NBA’s final update last week.
But wouldn’t a campaign among peers be considered bad taste?”Oh that could be tampering,” Kidd said. “So maybe not players. Maybe the media.”
A more likely reason for Doncic’s omission: His availability and production during the early weeks of this season didn’t match his otherworldly expectations.
Doncic has missed 15 games so far — already the most in any of his four NBA seasons v with left ankle and knee sprains, a right ankle sprain and COVID-19. He also faced criticism about his conditioning and weight over the first six weeks.
He’s averaging 25.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists through 34 games this season. His scoring and passing statistics rank 12th- and fifth-best in the league, but would mark Doncic’s lowest season averages since his rookie year.
He also hasn’t found a consistent shooting rhythm.
He finished 2 of 6 from 3 on Wednesday in Portland to boost his 3-point percentage to 30% this season.
But since his Jan. 2 return from COVID-19, Doncic’s production has been on the rise.
He’s tallied four triple-doubles since Jan. 9, including his 15-point, 10-rebound, 15-assist stat line against the Trail Blazers. He’s displayed singularly dominant form, such as when he smashed his season-best with 41 points Jan. 19 against Toronto, but has also shown his willingness to create for teammates in Kidd’s new offensive system.
Doncic did some of both in his last outing.
He and Kristaps Porzingis combined for 24 of the Mavericks’ 40 first-quarter points in Portland, and then Doncic matched a season-high 15 feeds in 37 minutes as Kidd experimented with rotations.
If team success factors into coaches’ All-Star decisions, Doncic should be an easy choice with Dallas 12-3 since Dec. 31.
That would tie Doncic with Mark Aguirre for third-most All-Star appearances as a Maverick, behind Dirk Nowitzki’s 14 and Rolando Blackman’s four and ahead of two apiece by Kidd, Steve Nash and Michael Finley.
