The Toronto Raptors were able to send one player to the 2022 NBA All-Star game in Cleveland, as Fred VanVleet became just the fourth undrafted player in modern NBA history to earn that distinction. Unfortunately, star forward Pascal Siakam was not named to his second All-Star game.
Siakam has averaged 21.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game this season. He’s done all of this while playing out of position at center and leading the Raptors to a tie for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference despite the lack of bench scoring handicapping the squad.
Siakam’s only chance at being named an All-Star again lies in the hands of Adam Silver. With Kevin Durant likely to sit the All-Star game out due to an injury, Silver could name Siakam as an injury replacement. However, names like Jarrett Allen and LaMelo Ball could snag that final spot.
Based on what Siakam has put forward this season, the NBA should name him as the Durant injury replacement if KD is unable to go. This might be one of the most egregious snubs this All-Star cycle given the totality of what he has put forth this season.
Toronto Raptors: 3 reasons Pascal Siakam should be an NBA All-Star.
3. He’s improved as a player
Siakam was named an All-Star in a season where he put up 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds prior to the break on a dominant Raptors team. Given how he’s been playing within the context of Toronto’s roster turmoil this season, he might be playing his best individual brand of basketball this year.
Since the start of December, Siakam is averaging 22.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. That sort of production without a quality deputy that can take some of the scoring load away from him night in and night out shows he has been as integral to the team’s recent run of form as VanVleet.
Pascal Siakam is helping the Toronto Raptors on both ends.
Siakam is making a legitimate case for the All-Defensive team as well, as his play against big names like Bam Adebayo and Nikola Vucevic should turn some heads in the NBA league office. Siakam has completely reinvented his game to stick at center, and the results have been phenomenal.
While the league might be a bit apprehensive about finding a way to get two players from a team barely over .500 to Cleveland, Siakam’s play on both ends is as high as it has ever been. Very few players at any position in the East have been better than Siakam in the last two months.
2. The “he missed games” excuse doesn’t work
Due to a shoulder injury in the offseason that forced him to miss the first chunk of games in the season, Siakam’s All-Star case might not be taken as seriously by some of the coaches and media who helped construct these teams. That excuse doesn’t hold up when you look at some of the other reserves’ number of games played.
Siakam has played in 37 games this season, which is more than Jimmy Butler, a deserving All-Star with just 34 contests to his name. Khris Middleton was also named to the All-Star team, but he has just 41 games this season. Why is the lack of game time being held against Siakam and not those two?
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam put up All-Star numbers in 37 games.
Essentially, the league is telling Siakam that his All-Star candidacy was over before the year even started. Since returning to the team, Siakam has missed just three games, two of which were thanks to the league’s health and safety protocols.
Siakam has proven that his 37 games are as worthy of inclusion in the All-Star game as Middleton’s 41. If you want to poke holes in Siakam’s numbers to vote for someone else, that’s your prerogative. However, the “he missed time” narrative simply doesn’t make sense.
1. He has better numbers than multiple All-Stars
Siakam’s numbers show that he’s an elite scorer, playmaker, and rebounder on a team with postseason aspirations. Purely based on how his numbers look compared to the rest of his competition in the East, Pascal might have some very legitimate grounds for complaint.
Siakam is outscoring and outrebounding Middleton while tying him in assists per game. His points per game are above Darius Garland and just a few percentage points behind Butler. he’s doing this while shooting an efficient 47% from the field and playing near-elite defense.
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam’s numbers warrant inclusion.
Siakam might need to compete with Allen for the injury replacement designation. While Allen is outpacing him in rebounds and blocks, Siakam is blowing the Cavaliers center out of the water as a scorer (21.1 vs. 16.0 per game), and passer (5.1 vs 1.7 assists per game).
Siakam’s numbers blow some of his competition away, and overlooking him as an All-Star due to concerns about his length of game time or the fact Toronto isn’t a title contender would be a mistake. It would get away from the All-Star game’s stated mission of getting the best, most deserving players the love they deserve.