It is one thing to be spoken of in the NBA world. It is another thing to have an NBA legend speak about a player and shower praises on them. NBA legend Magic Johnson has usually shared his opinions, perspectives, and analysis of the game. He is also regularly seen giving flowers to the players. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers legend vouched for two players to be in the running for the All-Star game. But his take has left the NBA Twitter divided.
Johnson wanted people to include Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox and New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson for the All-Star campaign.
Magic Johnson endorses De’Aaron Fox and Jalen Brunson
Magic Johnson tweeted, “The two point guards we should be talking about for the All-Star Game are De’Aaron Fox (averaging 24 PTS, 5 REB, and 6 AST) and Jalen Brunson (averaging 22 PTS, 4 REB and 7 AST). As of today, both players have their teams in the playoffs“. But his endorsements have not been completely favored online. A user wrote, “Yes they deserve it there just might not be enough spots“.
The fans had a mixed reaction to the comments of the four-time NBA champion. The online space gave a shoutout to other point guards like Tyrese Haliburton, Domantas Sabonis, and Jude Holiday. Many people also agreed with Johnson’s claim, “Magic knows ball“. A few agreed with Johnson but at the same time, accepted the reality that the Western Conference was packed with a lot of talented point guards.
As per NBC Sports, De’Aaron Fox has been “Mr. Clutch” so far this season. According to the report, Fox leads the league in clutch shots and clutch field-goal percentage, and he is also second in total clutch points.
The media also observed that Jalen Brunson, on the other hand, seems to be the embodiment of ‘New Year, New Me‘, with drastically improved performances from last year. His contributions have been nothing short of impactful for the New York Knicks.
Preliminary results of the NBA All-Star voting
NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant lead their respective conferences in the first round of voting for the front-court category. Under point guards, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving are in first place in their own conferences. Unfortunately, both Fox and Brunson got no mention in the first round of voting.
According to NBC Sports, De’Aaron Fox has been instrumental in leading the Sacramento Kings to the 5th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 21-18. The head coach of the Kings, Mike Brown, wasn’t happy with the voting results. He said, “Them fans don’t know what they are talking about“. Fox said, “If we do that and I make the All-Star team, then so be it. And if I don’t, it is what it is. But I just want to be able to get out here and get wins.”
Jalen Brunson also commented on being snubbed by the fans. He had a similar sentiment to that of Fox. Brunson said that playing in the All-Star game would be nice, but he is focused on what he can control. Brunson said, “Just control what I can control. That’s really it“.
With the next fan update slotted for January 12, Magic Johnson’s endorsements may help put them on the list.
