Domantas Sabonis makes All-Star team, De'Aaron Fox biggest snub?

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There is a bright shiny light emanating from Golden 1 Center on a nightly basis and it’s not the purple beam shooting off into the sky. Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox have become stars this season in Sacramento. The duo have transformed the franchise and have the Kings in uncharted waters in the first half of this season.

On Thursday evening, one of these players made the Western Conference All-Star squad, while the other was left off.

Sabonis was rewarded for his play this season when the NBA announced reserves for the 2023 All-Star game in Salt Lake City later this month. Fox is now considered one of the biggest snubs of the night.

This is Sabonis’ third All-Star game invite, but his first in the Western Conference. The 26-year-old has been stellar for Sacramento this season, averaging 18.8 points, 7.1 assists and a league leading 12.3 rebounds per game.

Sabonis also ranks first in the NBA in double-doubles this season with 39 and his six triple-doubles are third in the league behind Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.

While Sabonis has held down the post, Fox has taken his game to new heights from the perimeter. Plenty of NBA folks had Fox making the squad, including the entire cast of characters on TNT that were given the honor of announcing the team.

The 25-year-old point guard is averaging 24.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 33.7 minutes per game this season. He’s shooting over 50 percent from the field and made improvements in almost every aspect of his game.

Throughout his career, Fox has always been clear that team success will lead to personal success. With the Kings currently sitting third in Western Conference standings at 29-21, his prediction didn’t exactly prove correct.

Sabonis, Ja Morant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were considered virtual locks coming into the evening. Fox was part of a second group of players under consideration, including Damian Lillard, Paul George, Lauri Markkanen, Anthony Davis and Anthony Edwards. When Lillard, George and Markkanen were all announced and one spot remained, there was still a glimmer of hope for Fox.

The last name called by the TNT crew was Memphis Grizzly forward Jaren Jackson Jr., which was stunning on multiple fronts. While the Grizzlies are second in the Western Conference standings, Jackson has a modest statline of 16.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in 27 minutes per game. His 3.3 blocks per game would lead the league if he qualified, but he’s missed 17 of Memphis’ 52 games this season due to injury and he’s slated to miss another on Friday night.

Jackson is a great defender and his team is playing well, but he’s played 639 minutes less than Fox this season and his overall numbers don’t really compare to the Kings’ guard. They also don’t compare to Davis’ numbers or Edwards’ numbers. You could even make the case that Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon made more sense than Jackson with comparable numbers, more minutes played and his team at the top of the Western Conference standings.

A potential All-Star invite is still possible for Fox. Zion Williamson, the electric power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, has been out since early January with a hamstring issue and is just now being cleared to run. If he isn’t cleared to play before All-Star weekend, there is a chance that an injury replacement will be named.

Fox would be on that list, especially with how he finished in the cumulative voting between fans, players and media. Fox finished sixth amongst Western Conference guards in cumulative scoring, and the five players above him are already in.

Davis finished fourth in frontcourt players, but he’s missed 24 of his team’s 53 games this season and the Lakers currently sit in 12th place in the Western Conference. Adding to this, Los Angeles already has LeBron James representing them in the game. A team that’s three games under .500 shouldn’t have multiple representatives at the game.

If Williamson can’t go or another Western Conference player bows out between now and Feb. 19, Commissioner Adam Silver makes the decision on who steps in and takes that spot.

Fox will miss his fourth game of the season on Friday when the Kings face Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. The star guard is away from the team due to personal reasons. There is no word on when he may rejoin the team on their season-long seven game road trip.

It should be an interesting game, with Sabonis making his return to Indiana for the first time since being traded to Sacramento last February. Haliburton is back in action after missing time due to injury. The former first round pick of the Kings earned his first All-Star nod on Thursday night and is having an outstanding season for the Pacers playing alongside another former King in Buddy Hield.

Sacramento is currently 2-2 on their seven game road trip with stops in New Orleans and Houston (for two games) ahead. The Kings currently have a Western Conference best 13-11 record on the road and they sit just two and a half games behind the Grizzlies for second place in the standings.