PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the third season in a row, the Sixers have two All-Stars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Once again, Tobias Harris did not make an All-Stars team, even though his numbers are up and the Sixers have led the East for the majority of this season.
The last time the Sixers had three All-Stars was 1987.
On Tuesday night, the seven All-Star reserves from each conference were announced. Head coaches from their respective conferences vote on two guards, three frontcourt players and two more players at any position. They cannot vote for their own players.
"He clearly wanted to make it, and I clearly wanted him to make it," Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said after the 76ers' 109-102 win over the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night in Tampa.
Rivers will coach the team captained by the Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant at the All-Star Game on March 7.
Harris did not speak to the media after the win. He did post on social media a screen shot of the song "Politics as Usual" by Jay-Z.
Harris, in his 10th NBA season, followed the news of yet another All-Star snub by leading the Sixers with 23 points in their victory over the Raptors, to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks. He shot eight of 12 from the field and three of four from three-point distance.
Harris may not be thrilled that he didn’t make it again, but Rivers said he's "as mature as anybody in our locker room, including the coaches."
"The best way to handle the disappointment is go out and show people you can play," Rivers said. "Go out and get 23 points and seven rebounds and five assists, two blocked shots."
The official announcement of All-Star reserves was made on TNT’s "NBA Tip-Off" pregame show.
None of the three analysts, Shaquille O’Neal, Candace Parker and Dwyane Wade, predicted Harris would be a reserve. Host Adam Lefkoe pointed out that there were so many quality players to choose from that some were going to be left out.
Wade offered some perspective on why Harris wasn’t one of the seven.
"Tobias keep getting the wrong end of the stick, and I think it’s because his game is quiet," Wade said. "But he’s been very productive, especially this year. Obviously they got an MVP candidate in Embiid, but Tobias is a go-to guy over there for a team who’s No. 1 in the East. So, definitely another snub [among the Eastern Conference players this season]."
The Eastern Conference reserves are Brooklyn’s James Harden, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, New York’s Julius Randle, Orlando’s Nikola Vučević and Simmons.
It's the first time being selected for Brown, LaVine and Randle, and it would have been for Harris, too.
"Tobias can get the same numbers anywhere — and bigger numbers if he was on a bad team," Rivers said before Sunday night’s game against Toronto — the first in two-game series in Tampa. "But what he’s doing is winning basketball. I think him and Ben should get more credit for it."
Rivers says he thought Harris — who is averaging 20.7 points per game, while shooting 51.7% from the floor and 41.5% from three-point distance — should have received the nod along with Simmons.
"We have the best record in the East, and because of that and the way he’s played, I thought he deserved to be on it," Rivers said. "We have to keep analyzing how guys get numbers and how much they affect winning."
Simmons told NBC Sports Philadelphia he was disappointed for Harris.
"He’s a talented player, and we wouldn’t be in first place without him," he said after Tuesday’s win.
Simmons says it’s a blessing to make his third All-Star Game in row and he doesn’t take it for granted. He said he was particularly honored that it was made possible by other Eastern Conference coaches.
"I think that means more than fan votes and things like that, personally for me, just because they see the game, they know the game," Simmons said. "They’re coaching the games every night. They see the talent out there. There’s a lot of talented guys out there. And I’m a talented player who can do a lot of things on the floor. I’m glad a lot of coaches appreciate that and see that.”
Rivers said over the weekend that coaches call each other about their guys before the votes are due. When he vouched for Simmons and Harris, he said, his peers seemed surprised he would make the effort. Evidently, they considered Simmons to be a lock.
"Like, literally every Eastern coach I talked to, when I said, 'Hey, I’m calling on behalf of Ben and Tobias,' and they were like: 'Ben? Why you calling about him?'"
So how can Harris achieve that level of respect among Eastern coaches? The Sixers going all the way this season might help.
"Maybe we keep winning and go win the whole thing, and then next year he will be on it," Rivers said. "So, sometimes you play and make it the year before you make it. Hopefully that’s the case for him."