Stephen Curry will make the trip to Houston for the NBA All-Star Game after all, as a participant in the three-point contest on Saturday, February 16th. The Golden State Warriors’ star floor general currently ranks second in the Association in treys made with 142, trailing only Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Hornets, and also hits from beyond the arc at an impressive .449 clip.

Feb 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) attempts a jump shot during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Curry will face off against Anderson, the Knicks’ Steve Novak, the Pacers’ Paul George, the Cavs’ Kyrie Irving and the Spurs’ Matt Bonner. This may be a smidgen of west coast bias, but I like Curry’s chances to win the trial of the trifectas. When he’s got it going, there’s no better long range shooter in the league.

That’s not all. Because of injuries to stars like Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Tim Duncan, Curry stands a strong chance of being named a replacement on the Western Conference roster. So, for the moment, it seems the uproar over Curry’s failure to make the original squad may have been premature.

Along with teammate David Lee’s All-Star selection, Curry’s presence in the three-point contest represents a huge step up in prominence for Golden State, a franchise that only days ago hadn’t seen one of its players go to the mid-season gala since Latrell Sprewell in 1997. That’s 16 years of mediocrity, coaching changes, bad contracts finally washed away by a pair of bright stars that have led the Dubs to their best start in several decades. For the first time since the Clinton administration, Warriors fans have a reason to tune in on All-Star weekend.

Specifically regarding Curry, his ascension from boom-or-bust first round selection in 2009 to legitimate team leader and (potentially) NBA All-Star has validated the choice Golden State made when they plucked him from Davidson. It also validates the team’s decision to go with Curry over Monta Ellis for the forseeable future. While Curry has blossomed into one of the league’s most exciting young stars, Ellis’ two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks have seen him post his lowest scoring averages since his sophomore campaign (2006-07).

Expect to see a lot of Curry over All-Star weekend. And expect to see him there quite a bit in the future. Only next year, he won’t have to rely on the ill health of other players to get him on the floor on one of the NBA’s largest stages.

I’d justfeel better if Curry had somehow been wronged by a faulty voting process or biased electorate. But he wasn’t.

The fact is that there’s really no logical case to be made for Curry’s superiority to the reserve guards who beat him out. Russell Westbrook is one of the 10 best players in the NBA and his team has won more games than any other this year. The only real point of contention about his spot on the roster is whether or not he should have been voted in as a starter ahead of Kobe Bryant.

Nov 19, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) embraces shooting guard Stephen Curry (30) after their win against the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors defeated the Mavericks 105-101. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Similarly, Tony Parker and James Harden both have PERs substantially higher than Curry’s (22.93 and 22.03 to 19.84, respectively) so any argument against their worthiness starts from a severe logical disadvantage. Their numbers have both simply been better than Curry’s, but even if you’re inclined to ignore them, you’d be hard pressed to make a very good anecdotal case that Curry’s exclusion was some sort of travesty.

It’s not difficult to argue that Curry is equally deserving of trip to Houston as Westbrook, Harden and Parker are, but it’s nearly impossible to say that he is more deserving.

The discourse on the Warriors’ first All-Star selection since 1997 is sure to branch off in a couple of different, predictable directions. First, fans will lament Curry’s absence from the roster, citing the impact he’s made on the Dubs, his status as the league’s preeminent three-point shooter and his worthy statistical credentials. All of those things are true, and they’re compelling. But as we’ve covered, he wasn’t the only terrific guard up for consideration.

Next, some fans will make the case that Curry is more deserving than Lee. In a vacuum, that’s a reasonable position. But it ignores the reality of the situation. Curry wasn’t competing with Lee for a spot (or LaMarcus Aldridge or Zach Randolph); he was fighting with the three guards we’ve already mentioned. And even if he were measured against the bigs, its not like he has been demonstrably better or more valuable than the players who made the team.

It’s bitterly unsatisfying to be at peace with a decision that I desperately want to be upset about. But Curry was just a casualty of a numbers game; there were too many good players and not enough spots. It’s a bummer for Curry, but your takeaway from all of this is that I deserve congratulations for my impressively logical and mature handling of the whole situation.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to stick pins in my Tony Parker voodoo doll.