The early ballots for the starting five for the NBA All-Star Game on February 20th, 2022, will be out in a matter of weeks.
Fans will be able to cast their ballots with a familiar name on the ballot in Kyrie Irving.
That leaves open the possibility that the Nets star could make his first and only appearance of the season in the All-Star Game. It’s unlikely and seems crazy, but a one-off performance would be par for the course with the way Irving’s season has gone.
Although Irving has not played a game this season for the Nets due to New York City’s vaccine mandate, New York Post’s Brian Lewis breaks down the possibilities in this scenario:
“When the NBA updated its All-Star voting process, all players on the rosters were put on the ballot. Both league and team sources indicated that because Irving is still on the Nets’ official roster — sent home but not suspended — he won’t be an exception, despite not having played a second for the Nets this season.”
While there is a theoretical chance with Kyrie on the ballot, there is no chance Irving will make the All-Star Game, much less be in the starting lineup.
The fan vote for the five All-Star Game starters for each conference make up only 50 percent (assuming he gets enough votes) of what Irving needs to play. Then 25 percent represents the NBA player vote, and the final 25 percent comes from votes of select media members. It’s doubtful that the players and media members are voting for Irving to start.
Then the All-Star reserves are selected by NBA coaches. There’s no chance a coach will cast their vote for a player who hasn’t played one minute this season.
But Uncle Drew fans can still dream and vote, though.
