The Brooklyn Nets have not had a representative at the NBA All-Star Game since Joe Johnson in 2014. So is the narrative when you’re one of the worst teams in basketball for the better part of the last five years.
Things are changing at the Barclays Center, though, and the Nets are one of the hottest teams in basketball as they’ve won 20 of their last 26 games dating back to Dec. 7. A win on Tuesday night over the Chicago Bulls delivered the Nets their 28th win of the season. They had 28 wins all of last year and a combined 41 in the two combined seasons before that.
While head coach Kenny Atkinson continues to bring a different culture to Brooklyn, his point guard, D’Angelo Russell, has quickly become the team’s most valuable player.
One that is deserving of breaking the draught of All-Star Games without a Net.
The 22-year-old is in the midst of a career season under Atkinson, who has a track record of bringing out the most in his point guards. After being written off by the Los Angeles Lakers, who took him second overall in the 2015 draft, Russell is posting 19.5 points and 6.4 assists per game this season, by far his best numbers as a pro.
He’s been hitting his stride as of late, especially on the offensive side of the ball, as he’s posted 25.4 points per game in his last 10 outings, including a 40-point explosion in Orlando against the Magic on Jan. 18. Russell earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors on Jan. 21 and is a strong candidate for Player of the Month as well. In January, he’s putting up 23.7 points with 7.1 assists per game and it’s no coincidence that the Nets are 11-3 during that stretch.
“D’Angelo, what can I say?” Atkinson said. “This last month and a half he’s been out of his mind. He’s just playing great basketball.”
Only six point guards in the NBA that have played 39 or more games are averaging more points and assists per game than Russell. Only two of those players in each category play in the Eastern Conference.
With Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker already named as Eastern Conference starters in the 2019 All-Star Game, which takes place in Charlotte, there are likely four more guard spots left up for grabs. the only other Eastern Conference players who should be locks to make it are Ben Simmons and Bradley Beal.
Russell has outplayed the likes of Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, and even Kyle Lowry this season. Toronto’s Lowry is the only player of the three that has Russell beat in the big-two statistical categories with 9.4 assists per game.
That sure seems like more than enough to get Russell into the All-Star Game this season.
