The media has 0 votes, and there is a high probability that they will not be eligible for the All-Star, why does the league not like Harden
Not long ago, the NBA just announced the starting lineup for the 2024 All-Star Game, the starting five in the East are Lillard, Haliburton, Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Tatum, and the starting five in the West are Doncic, Alexander, Jokic, Durant, and James.
Curry, who has been the focus of fans, missed the All-Star start this time, and he was the third-most voted backcourt player in the West, below Jokic and Alexander, so he was not selected. The next thing can only be pinned on the coach selection process to see if there is a chance to be selected as a substitute.
And in addition to Curry, the vote count of Harden, another former All-Star starter, is also interesting.
Harden tied for sixth place with Booker and Fox in the final votes, ahead of Doncic, Alexander, Curry, Edwards and Irving. Interestingly, Harden had 932392 fan votes this time, which was also the sixth among Western backcourt players, with 26 player votes, ranking eighth, and the number of media votes was actually 0!
If Harden's performance this season is indeed not enough to enter the All-Star, then it is a bit too much to say that Harden, as the assist king of the NBA regular season last season, did not even make it to the All-Star?
In addition to the decline in form, we can also clearly feel that in recent seasons, the league has deliberately suppressed Harden, as can be seen from the simplest number of free throws. Harden averaged 11.8 free throws per game with the Rockets in 2019, 6.2 with the 76ers last season and 4.9 with the Clippers this season. Of course, now Harden's tactical position is slowly declining, and it is also reasonable to make fewer free throws. But if you think about Harden back then, as long as he took the initiative to make a foul, the referee would definitely give the whistle! Look at the present, many obviously uncontroversial fouls, but the referee ignored them! You can only say that you have to pay back.
Continuously missing the All-Star, coupled with some macro-level regulation and control of the league, made the 34-year-old Deng Ge slowly walk off the altar. So why doesn't the league like Harden? The reason is simple, the NBA is a commercial league, and their so-called star-making movement has never stopped, including Harden himself, who once had the league's driving force when the Rockets were in high spirits. Now that the new is replacing the old, the menopausal stars are gradually growing, and they also need data and exposure to increase the income of the league, Deng Ge and even Curry, this group of old people are naturally abandoned.
From this point of view, I have to admire James, who has played for 21 seasons and is still a key star in the league!