Devin Booker, Trae Young and the 12 biggest snubs from 2021 NBA All-Star rosters

19.6 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 22.3 PER, 1.7 VORP

The Miami Heat didn't get off to the start they wanted after surprising the league and becoming Eastern Conference champions in 2020. The roster was depleted due to COVID-19 protocols early on, but their struggles were more than that. However, one player who certainly wasn't to blame was Adebayo.

After receiving a max extension in the offseason, Adebayo has upped his scoring and assist numbers from 2020, his first All-Star season, as well as his accuracy from the charity stripe. His passing makes him such a key factor in the Heat's equation for success, and it's starting to turn into wins after the team got off on the wrong foot.

A model of consistency, Adebayo has only one game in which he's scored fewer than 10 points on the year, and it came when he scored 9 before missing the remainder with an injury. With 12 games of 20 points on at least 50 percent shooting, he's joined by only 20 other players in the league to achieve that feat. But, for some reason, he wasn't selected with upwards of 20 other players to partake in All-Star Weekend.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
Yes - Nikola Vucevic

24.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.3 APG, 18.3 PER, 0.4 VORP

Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) is a useful stat that often points out the most valuable players in the league at any given time — for instance, the current top three is Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo — but I think it's a little off here. After all, not many players can casually score around 25 points per night, even in today's high-scoring league, with several other capable scorers on the floor around them.

But that's the case here with Booker, whose defense leaves much to be desired but whose offense is elite. The Suns score over 12 more points per 100 possessions with Booker on the floor as opposed to when he's off. With that said, the defense falters nearly that same amount when Booker is in.

Unfortunately, his offensive prowess wasn't enough to get him the nod, though Chris Paul was able to represent the Suns instead. And though Paul has changed the culture in Phoenix, I still think Booker is the face of the team and the biggest force night in and night out.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
Yes - Chris Paul

19.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.6 APG, 23.6 PER, 1.2 VORP

Butler has only played in 19 games this year due to COVID protocols and injury, and this ultimately was the factor that did him in. Because what he's been doing on the floor throughout February is something that few other players in the league could achieve.

There's what he's done over the span since his last absence, averaging 20.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 13 games. There's the team success, as the Heat have gone 8-5 in that span and are 7-3 in their last 10. And there are the individual games in which he's exploded, including three straight triple-doubles against the Clippers, Warriors and Kings last week.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No - he wasn't playing well enough until recently

16.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, 19.8 PER, 1.1 VORP

Mike Conley has never gotten an All-Star nod in his career, so why should the 2020-21 season have been any different?

There's the fact that the Jazz are taking the league by storm and currently sit atop the Western Conference with an amazing 25-6 record. There's also the fact that the Jazz are a better offensive team by more than five points and a better defensive team by nearly 10 points when Conley is on the floor. That +14.7 net rating is a figure that no one else on the Jazz matches, with Gobert (an All-Star) coming in second at +14.5.

So, despite Conley saying that "this is the year," for his All-Star kudos, he'll have to try again in the future.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No

19.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.9 APG, 21.8 PER, 1.2 VORP

Raise your hand if you thought the Spurs would be 16-11 as we approach All-Star Weekend and that the primary reason would be because 12-year veteran DeMar DeRozan was averaging a career-best 6.9 assists and 89.3 free throw percentage... anyone? No?

Here we are, and 2020-21 DeMar is delivering with an assist percentage over 30.0 percent, a career high which makes him one of only five non-point guards to hit that threshold and score at least 19 points per game. He's been named to an All-Star roster four times in his career to this point, though, so it's not the most painful snub in the world.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No - but he and Booker should duke it out for that last spot

22.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.5 APG, 21.7 PER, 1.2 VORP

Well, SGA can't say he's an All-Star yet, but he's still part of the all-too-elusive club of players with all five vowels in his last name. So that counts for something.

But so should shooting a scorching 40.7 percent from deep to go along with a 50.6 percent overall shooting clip. His assist totals have skyrocketed, in large part to Chris Paul's departure, but the Thunder's winning ways have gone in the other direction for the same reason. He'll have his time in the All-Star spotlight soon, but not for the 12-19 Thunder.

SGA and the ASG will stay apart for at least one more year.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No

23.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 18.1 PER, 1.1 VORP

Grant's breakout year has surpassed all of our expectations, especially considering he had never before averaged even 14.0 points per game. Upping his average nearly 12 points from his 2019-20 campaign that earned him a pay day in Detroit, he's more than living up to the three-year, $60 million that the Pistons were willing to give him.

The Pistons stink, which ultimately held him back. They're 8-22, though they do have wins against top teams like the Lakers, 76ers Nets, Celtics and Celtics again, and Grant has been a large part of those efforts. We'll see if his development can eventually be used for winning purposes and earn him All-Star respect.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No

20.6 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 19.4 PER, 1.2 VORP

Doc Rivers is the Tobi whisperer. Harris looks like a new player for the 2020-21 iteration of the 76ers, upping his field goal percentages from last season (.471/.367/.806) into much deadlier numbers (.513/.403/.894). He's scoring efficiently, playing good defense, playing a lot of productive minutes, hitting clutch shots, and providing a lot of the intangible leadership in his role as a veteran for the 76ers.

They couldn't ask for much more from their third star, but that's exactly what he is. He's no Joel Embiid, and he's not the impact player on the defensive side of the floor or all around that Simmons has been. And for that reason, he's not an All Star.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No

23.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, 20.6 PER, 1.3 VORP

At last year's All-Star break, which was Ingram's first time getting selected, he was averaging 24.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 4.2 APG. So it's not as though there's a huge drop-off in performance. However, the Pelicans are performing a little below expectations, and with Zion Williamson stealing the spotlight (and the All-Star selection), it's not particularly surprising that Ingram was left out.

He'll be battling for that last reserve spot.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No

20.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.7 APG, 19.9 PER, 1.3 VORP

Similarly to how LeBron James thinks that Devin Booker is really underappreciated, I've long felt this way about Middleton. The sharpshooter fell just .003 FG% short of a 50-40-90 season in 2019-20, his second straight All-Star campaign, and now finds himself over .500, well over .400 on three pointers, but just .005 FT% short of getting there this year.

Unfortunately, it's hard to stand out when you're Giannis Antetokounmpo's teammate, and the Bucks aren't really blowing anyone away to this point in the season. The analytics also aren't overly kind to Middleton. According to FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR metric, for instance, Middleton's net contributions to the Bucks are lower than those of Giannis, Jrue Holiday, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo so far.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No

21.5 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 5.7 APG, 20.7 PER, 1.4 VORP

This one is tough to stomach for Pacers fans. The Pacers were one of the teams to watch in the early goings of this season, and Sabonis was the engine that drove them to a fantastic start. His performance hasn't tailed off all too much, though his Pacers certainly have, losing five of their last eight albeit against some tough competition.

Sabonis's contributions on both ends of the floor have been extremely important to the Pacers' success... or so you'd think. The offense and defense are actually both better when he's off of the floor, according to Basketball Reference, and RAPTOR isn't all to high on his production either.

Still, his statistics are too good to ignore based on face value.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
Yes - Nikola Vucevic, Julius Randle

26.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 9.5 APG, 24.0 PER, 1.7 VORP

Has all the foul-drawing finally gotten the best of Young? Probably not. But maybe the facts that he's still not scoring with great efficiency and that the Hawks are struggling to put too many wins on the board are working against him. He's a scoring machine who's floor presence helps him to get assists on the board as well, with some deep threes and flashy lobs making him supremely entertaining to watch.

But the jury's out on Young being the leader of a winning team until he proves otherwise.

Is this a true snub, and if so, who should he replace?
No