Another Day, Another Player Takes Ben Simmons’ Spot in the All-Star Game

If you haven’t heard by now, Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic was named to the 2018 NBA All-Star Game as the designated injury replacement for Cleveland Cavaliers forward/center/mid-game defector Kevin Love. There was some thought that Ben Simmons was in line for Love’s slot, but... the game is the game. You want it to be one way, but it’s the other way.

This is the second time in three days that Simmons (who was just named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for January) was denied a chance to run with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook and the rest of the NBA’s finest. If/when Big Ben gets glossed over yet again prior to All-Star Weekend (for Kemba Walker and/or Jaylen Brown and/or Spencer Dinwiddie), please refer to the following paragraphs in lieu of us writing an entirely new article.

The recent injury to [insert original All-Star’s name here] means that [choose the appropriate one: Team LeBron/Team Curry] now has an open roster spot for the NBA’s mid-season showcase. Unfortunately, for the [insert proper ordinal number here] consecutive time, Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Ben Simmons has been passed over in favor of [insert replacement player who is less fun to watch than Ben Simmons].

If fans were in charge of selecting injury replacements, Simmons would already be making plans for Valentine’s Day/Black Panther Weekend. But All-Star reserves and such are chosen by the coaches, and they reward veterans/wins/etc. more than they do rookie point guards who are nightly threats to rack up a triple-double.

[If Simmons and/or any of his teammates issue a cryptic tweet addressing the situation, embed here]

Simmons is still headed to Los Angeles in mid-February: He’s set to join Dario Saric and Joel Embiid on the World Team in the Rising Stars event on All-Star Friday. Until then, the Sixers’ point guard will continue his reign of terror on the rest of the NBA.