Each week during the 2024-25 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.

Fact or Fiction: Domantas Sabonis is The Biggest Snub

What is a snub? A snub is a guy that can’t get no love from … the voting panel for the NBA All-Star Game.

Maybe a handful of you understood that joke. But it is true. I did not envy the voters this season. The league is as rich with talent as it has ever been. Someone was bound to get snubbed. Multiple players.

The NBA on Thursday announced its All-Star reserves (selected by the coaches), completing the 24-player field for this year’s All-Star Game in San Francisco, so long as (fingers crossed) nobody gets injured between now and Feb. 16.

EASTERN CONFERENCE: (starters in bold) Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics; Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks; Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons; Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers; Tyler Herro, Miami Heat; Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks; Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers; Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers; Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers; Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics; Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

WESTERN CONFERENCE: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers; Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder; James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers; Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies; LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets; Alperen Şengün, Houston Rockets; Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs; Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

And sure enough: There are some snubs. But remember:

When we are determining The Biggest Snub, we have to kick someone out. Sorry, James Harden.

Hear me out. (But a disclaimer first: Games played matter, so apologies to Paolo Banchero, Luka Dončić, Joel Embiid, Ja Morant and Franz Wagner, among others who did not play enough to earn consideration.)

The Biggest Snub has to come from the West. There are too many good players in the conference. Herro would not have sniffed a selection on a .500 team from the West. He should not have even made it over Trae Young in the Eastern Conference, but if we are looking for the most talented non-All-Star this season — The Biggest Snub — he is in the West. He did not fail to make an All-Star team over Tyler Herro.

He failed to make one over Harden, who is having a great season for a Los Angeles Clippers team that has exceeded expectations. He also may not be the most valuable member of his own team. Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac are, at the very least, as impactful, as is a healthy Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers are in sixth place because of a defense that is ranked second in the NBA despite the presence of Harden; not because of a bottom-10 offense.

Harden’s raw numbers — 21.7 points, 8.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game — are impressive, though he is shooting 40% from the field and below league average from 3 (35.2%). His 203 turnovers lead the NBA.

I do not like making a case against anyone, but these are the rules, and it is a good one against Harden.

Now for the reveal: This year’s The Biggest Snub is not LaMelo Ball or Devin Booker or Tyrese Maxey. It is Domantas Sabonis, spawn of Arvydas, King of The Nail.

It was between him and Kyrie Irving.

• Sabonis: 20.9 PTS (61/48/77), 14.5 REB, 6.6 AST (3.1 TO), 0.6 STL, 0.4 BLK; 68.0 TS%, 24.1 PER

• Irving: 24.2 PTS (48/42/90), 4.9 AST (2.3 TO), 4.6 REB, 1.2 STL, 0.3 BLK; 60.0 TS%, 19.8 PER

• Harden: 21.7 PTS (40/35/89), 8.4 AST (4.6 TO), 5.8 REB, 1.5 STL, 0.6 BLK; 57.3 TS%, 19.1 PER

Would you look at that? Sabonis is the most efficient scorer of the three, leads the NBA in rebounding and averages more assists per game than Irving (with a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Harden).

Here is who has averaged a 21-14-6 in NBA history: Wilt Chamberlain. That is it.

What else do you really have to say? Sabonis has also played more than both of them this season. And when he is on the court, the Kings are 14.9 points per 100 meaningful possessions better, according to Cleaning the Glass — the league’s fourth-best on/off rating among players who have logged at least 1,000 minutes, trailing only Jokić, Wembanyama and Chris Paul (who has played more than three-quarters of his minutes with Wemby).

Sacramento has the equivalent of a top-five offense when Sabonis is on the floor and a bottom-two offense when he is on the bench, and the team’s offensive rating has settled into seventh in the league.

By contrast the Mavericks are 3.8 points per 100 possessions better when Irving is on the floor, and the Clippers are 4.8 points per 100 possessions better when Harden is on the court. Add those on/off ratings together, and you are still searching for as much impact as Sabonis.

I am not here to say Sabonis’ game is the most compelling for an All-Star audience, but who wants to see another Harden step-back 3 when Sabonis is converting his triples at the league’s second-best clip? Plus, he will pass and rebound better than anyone. He won’t steal the show, but he belongs in it. What we are doing here? The answer is obvious.

Determination: Fact. Domantas Sabonis is The Biggest Snub of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.