NBA All-Stars Believe Lou Williams Deserved to be an All-Star

Lou Williams deserves to be an NBA All-Star, at least once. He knows it, the fans know it, and current NBA All-Stars know it.

Before looking forward, we have to look backward. To begin the case for Lou, we need to look at his numbers last year. Last season, Lou put up a fantastic: 22.6 PPG, 5.3 APG, 2.5 RPG, on 43% FG, and 36% from three. These numbers were on a team that contended for a playoff spot all season, ending with a record of 42-40. One may look at what Lou put up last season and consider it an aberration, especially when compared to his previous years. However, that simply just isn’t the case.

This season, Lou is putting up an almost identical: 19.9PPG, 5.3 APG, 2.9 RPG, on 43% FG, 37% from three, on 21.91 PER. This month alone, Lou is putting up an astounding: 26.9 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 2.1 RPG. He’s shooting 50/40/90 splits but with 52% from three, 49% from the field, and 91% from the FT. Everything about how he’s playing this month, combined with his overall play the last 2 years, screams All-Star. That same sentiment was shared by his peers.

Here’s what his former teammate and now All-Star, Blake Griffin had to say.

“There’s a lot of players that deserve to make it, but there’s only 26 guys. Unfortunately some guys don’t get in. As players, that doesn’t change our perception of them.”

Kawhi Leonard gave the most clear cut response to Lou’s All-Star snub, noting that sometimes its just about about media hype.

“He deserves it. There’s a lot of people that deserve it. If you’re an All-Star it doesn’t mean you’re one of the best players ever. There’s only 24 players that are able to play. They usually choose three players from the team that’s number one, or going down the line of star power, or who’s hyped up in the media.”

The highest form of praise came from Spurs player LaMarcus Aldridge. He agreed with the notion that Lou Williams is on the Mount Rushmore of players who deserved to be in an All-Star game.

“He’s a big time player. Every NBA player knows about his game. When he comes on the floor, it’s going to be a tough night. Him and Jamal Crawford are definitely two of the guys on any given night that can score 50. Jamal and Lou definitely should have made at least one after all these years, but off the bench, it’s just tough.”

It may seem like all hope is lost when it comes to wishing for perennial 6th men of the year players like Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams to be in the All-Star game. However, with the legacy additions of Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwyane Wade, it seems like there still may be a chance. Adam Silver said Dirk and Wade were added into the All-Star game because of an email suggestion from a fan, so I suggest NBA fans send some more emails if you want to see players like Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford in the game.