Joel Embiid already has the NBA All-Star Game on his mind…in a manner of speaking.
Asked about the bright future of the center position and whether it warranted the 5 being returned to the league’s All-Star ballots, Embiid agreed, laying out a strong case, per Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly:
Embiid sees a bright future for the center position in the NBA. He would be in favor of changing the All-Star voting to reflect that.
“You’ve got KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns), you’ve got Myles Turner, you’ve got Kristaps (Porzingis), so a lot of young guys, a lot of dominant big men, Andre Drummond. I’m hoping they bring back the center position for All-Star,” Embiid said after battling Hassan Whiteside in the Sixers win over the Heat. “Around the league, there’s a lot of young big men and I think we’re starting a comeback.”
The “center” designation was removed from the ballot in 2012, since it was technically the only specific position listed. Guards and forwards were voted in under the backcourt and frontcourt classifications; the center position finds itself under the frontcourt umbrella.
Embiid, to be sure, does have a point. But coaches votes account for more than half the All-Star rosters and aren’t likely to ignore 5s altogether. So if the fans don’t vote in a starting center to the frontcourt, it’s really only one spot that’s gone to waste.
The real solution here lies with getting rid of positions altogether. Very few players only assume one slot in today’s NBA, so the All-Star ballot, while vague, caters to a bygone mindset. We have bigs shooting 3s, forwards orchestrating the offense and guards posting up. Such versatility shouldn’t be shackled to any kind of constraints.
