The Philadelphia 76ers haven't had an All-Star since 2006, when Allen Iverson representing the team in his last full season in Philly. Andre Iguodala may or may not have deserved an All-Star bid in year's past, but with the Sixers 17-7, sitting atop the Atlantic Division and receiving more national attention than they have in a long time, Andre Iguodala most definitely deserves to be there in 2012.
Detractors will point at his 13 points per game and say dumb stuff, but bottom line is Andre Iguodala deserves to be there. Our own Derek Bodner made a phenomenal counter to the Iguodala haters, so read it.
Luckily, it's not just the Liberty Ballers crew who think Dre deserves a spot. The national media has been lending plenty of support to Iguodala and the Sixers in general. Make the jump to see what talking heads put Iguodala on their imaginary All-Star ballot. Some surprise Sixers make a few lists as well.
Shaq, Chris Webber and Charles Barkley had Iguodala on their ballot. Kenny Smith left him off, but included Lou Williams. Chris Webber also had Jrue Holiday.
FORWARD NO. 1: Andre Iguodala. Iggy's offensive stats are nothing to scream about, but Philadelphia has the No. 1 defense in the league, and while the entire roster is pretty good on that end, the club has one defensive superstar ... and that's Iguodala. According to 82games.com, opposing small forwards are shooting an effective field goal percentage of 36.6 percent against Iguodala. That's ridiculous! If Carmelo Anthony is an All-Star -- he was voted a starter -- than there should be no problem with Iguodala being an All-Star. They just happen to thrive at opposite ends of the floor.
Eastern Conference Reserves: Deron Williams, Jrue Holiday, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, Chris Bosh, Roy Hibbert.
Just missed out: Luol Deng, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ryan Anderson, Tyson Chandler, Darren Collison, Danny Granger, Lou Williams
Why: Rajon Rondo would have made it had it not been for the injury. The next best point guard not listed to me is Holiday, who has been a go to guy on the Sixers, as much as they have one.
PG Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers are one of the league's surprise teams, currently holding a 16-6 record that has them tied with Miami for the second-best record in the conference. They're going to be a notable story in the playoffs, even if they're only the victims of a first-round upset, and fans need to get acquainted with their players. Holiday has been one of the major factors in their success, improving every game as a floor leader and, for the sake of aesthetics, versatile enough to play alongside one of the East's other talented point guards during the ASG itself. His stellar defense won't come across in an exhibition context, but he's athletic enough to do a few things that everyone will remember.
SG/SF Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers: Holiday is Philly's up-and-comer, but Iguodala is the best representative of what they do well: He's capable of playing multiple positions and contributes in every aspect of the game. Plus, for the sake of watchability, he's the sort of leaper that could catch and finish any number of alley-oops from the East's many quality point guards. Oh, and who doesn't like a story about a veteran finally finding himself after many years of sitting on the cusp of stardom?
Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia (16-6)
13.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.0 apg
The 76ers are as much of an all-for-one, one-for-all bunch as the NBA can boast right now, but Iguodala has earned some All-Star love. He's a high-energy, two-way guy with a career-best PER of 19.2 and a strong resume at crunch time. Plus this one should be easy, considering coaches love voting for players like this.
Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Trey Kerby, The Basketball Jones
All three guys had Iguodala.