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The fans didn't vote Tim Duncan as one of the starters on the Western Conference All-Star team. No matter. It's not the first time that Duncan's been added after the public has had their say.
Last week the coaches left him off the team as well, and for just the second time in his storied career, it looks like we'll have a Duncan-less All Star Weekend.
And while we haven't lit up the internet with impassioned pleas to the commish, or put him at the top of a list of this year's All Star Snubs, a high-profile defense of Duncan's case was recently published by the New York Times:
Doesn't playing and behaving selflessly and professionally for 17 years promote the league in a way that cannot be quantified in numbers like jersey sales?
Doesn't seamlessly executing scores of high screen-and-rolls and setting the example in making the Spurs a basketball purist's dream team speak to those who might otherwise be inclined to dismiss the N.B.A. as a rapacious dunk-and-pony show?
In a telephone interview, [R.C.] Buford agreed that the Duncan snub reflected a general attitude about the Spurs organization, which has long recognized the league and shoe company agenda for selling "Allen Iverson and hip-hop."
I encourage you to read the entire article. It's a solid piece that's worth setting aside time to fully absorb.
