Justin Bieber is going to be pissed.
Some have complained about the NBA’s All-Star voting process. Giving fans a say is one thing, but entire races have been swayed by social media campaigns, most of which feature public figures—actors, singers, politicians, etc.—voting via Twitter and generating a crap ton of retweets that count as official ballots. There have even been billboards erected with the appropriate hashtags, encouraging passerbys to hit up Twitter and vote for a certain player.
That voting flexibility has resulted in some topsy-turvy returns. There may be no way from preventing Kobe Bryant to beat out anyone when he’s years removed from All-Star production; his brand is too ubiquitous. But there are other anomalies that rub people the wrong way—such as Zaza Pachulia ranking fourth in Western Conference frontcourt voting, ahead of should-be All-Star Draymond Green, and just behind Kawhi Leonard.
This is something commissioner Adam Silver says the league plans to address, per CSN’s Sebastian Salazar:
Commissioner Adam Silver promises #NBA to take 'fresh look' at #NBAAllStar balloting. Admits social media has been 'disruptive' to process.
— Sebastian Salazar (@SebiSalazarCSN) January 28, 2016
Personally, I don’t have an issue with the way voting is done. If there’s a way to limit the impact of retweets, then sure, go for it. But the NBA’s All-Star exhibition doesn’t actually matter. It’s for the fans. It bears no impact on the standings or home-court advantage in the NBA Finals (dishonorable shout out to MLB).
All-Star selections are only important insofar as they affect contract incentives and are used to prop up player legacies. And it makes more sense to devote more of those incentives to All-NBA selections, and anyone who uses All-Star appearances as anything more than anecdotal evidence when discussing legacies is doing it wrong.
Should the NBA take a look at its fan-voting procedures?
Absolutely.
It just shouldn’t get immersed in being too calculated.
Some of the fun, after all, is in the unpredictability.
