Three reasons why Zaza Pachulia should be an All-Star

To beat the new voting system

Zaza Pachulia was almost an All-Star last season. San Antonio Spurs’ fans’ late votes pushed Kawhi Leonard over the top. The then-Dallas Mavericks center was left in the fourth spot, on the outside looking in.

Since then, the NBA has tried to combat that. Now the fan vote counts for just half of the total vote. The media and the players each get a vote. They submit their votes and they’ll all get added and weighed together.

Adrian Wojnarowski posted a wonderful video essay about the new system. He argued that the fan is getting left out. The fan and media vote won’t allow the fans–the whole reason the All-Star Game exists–have their say.

The new system is there to protect against “unworthy” players being allowed to start the game. In theory, guys like Kobe Bryant and other retiring stars would be blocked from starting if they dont’ deserve it. But the media and the players would put them in.

So, really, this is the Zaza rule. The NBA is trying to block the will of the fans. Regardless of the reason why, the fans want Pachulia and if the majority truly didn’t want him in, then he wouldn’t be in. If the majority of fans were truly outraged that Pachulia is in line to start over Cousins, then they should vote for him.

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I admit, I thought it was ridiculous that he was getting votes over Green last year. But it’s still the will of the people. If the majority of folks vote for someone, that person should win. There shouldn’t be a system that undermines that.

The NBA fans deserve full control of their All-Star game. The league shouldn’t try to take that away. Maybe the voting is broken, but awarding media members a vote isn’t the way to fix it. It’s a meaningless game so why are we trying so hard to assign meaning to the voting process?

Zaza Pachulia making the All-Star Game despite the obstacles placed in front of him would be justice.