Brown offers blunt reaction to Sabonis, Fox NBA All-Star snubs

Brown offers blunt reaction to Sabonis, Fox NBA All-Star snubs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings had a pair of stars snubbed from the 2024 NBA All-Star game, with Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox both left off the Western Conference's roster despite posting strong numbers this season.

After the league announced the All-Star reserves on Thursday -- as voted on by the 30 NBA head coaches -- the glaring omission of Sabonis and Fox led to strong protests from a couple of prominent members of the Kings organization.

Among them is coach Mike Brown, who detailed to Andscape's Marc J. Spears why his players deserved a spot in this year's mid-season showcase.

"It's clear to anyone who watches the NBA and Kings basketball that De'Aaron and Domantas should have been selected for this year's All-Star game," Brown told Spears. "They are playing at an unbelievably elite level, Domantas establishing historic numbers with his double-doubles and De'Aaron setting a new career mark for 3-point field goals. Every year, there are deserving players left off the team but, to me, this is truly a glaring wrongdoing."

Brown was not alone, as Kings guard Kevin Huerter took to X, the site formerly known as Twitter, to voice his displeasure with his teammates being left off the All-Star roster.

"Man no way BOTH Foxy and Domas should have been left out," Heurter posted on X. "Numbers and team success are there!"

Sabonis is posting gaudy numbers this season, averaging 19.9 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists per game. Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to finish a season with at least 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists per game.

The All-NBA big man currently has a remarkable streak of 28 consecutive games with a double-double, including tying a Sacramento-era Kings record with 26 rebounds in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday at FedexForum.

Fox is averaging 27.2 points per game during the 2023-24 NBA season, setting a career-high with 120 made 3-pointers despite only having 40 games played.

After being named an All-Star and an All-NBA third-team selection last season, Fox's omission from this year's showcase is puzzling, to say the least.

Seven slots were allotted for All-Star reserves in each conference: two guards, three frontcourt players, and two wild cards who could play any position.

The players selected for those seven spots ahead of Sabonis and Fox were Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Los Angeles Clippers forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Minnesota Timberwolves forwards Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns and Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis.