If fan voting was all that counted, then Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo wouldn’t be starting in the NBA All-Star game and he might even get left out.
Who would you rather have as your starting shooting guard in the NBA right now? Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers or Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat? The first return of fan votes are in for this year’s All-Star Game and the future Hall of Famer but currently 37-year old reserve is ahead of Oladipo.
So far, the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving (910,329 votes) leads among guards in the East with Wade (409,156), the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (319,519), the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons (259,993) ahead of Oladipo (198,009). The Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry (180,571) trails Oladipo in 6th place.
I get it is fan voting, but c’mon. Wade is last or near the bottom in nearly every statistic compared to the top six vote-getters among the East’s guards.
Unlike Lowry, you can’t justify it with defense either. Miami is nearly 9 points worse defensively when Wade plays. Even with his offense, the Heat give up nearly 8 points per 100 possessions when the 3-time NBA champion comes off the bench.
And the fans voted him to start? Ridiculous. I get this is his legacy tour, but let the coaches put him on the roster, fellow NBA fans. Don’t put him out there in front of guys who earned the right to be honored with a start in Charlotte.
How does Victor Oladipo stack up?
So if fans were watching a little closer, where might they place Oladipo among the East’s guards? If Wade shouldn’t start along with Irving, who deserves it?
Oladipo’s 19.6 points per a game rank 3rd compared to the other top six vote-getters, but 5th in field goal percentage at 43 percent. Kemba leads the group with 25.4 points per a game while Ben “I don’t shoot 3-pointers” Simmons leads in FG% with 57.6 percent.
Lowry is by far the best distributor with 9.8 assists a game (nearly double Oladipo’s 5.5) but Oladipo’s turnover percentage is the second lowest at 11.4 while Walker leads at 9.4.
Defensively, Simmons is also one of the best defenders but I’d argue Oladipo is better the remaining group. Simmons is also the best rebounder of the group with 7 a game but Oladipo isn’t far behind with 5.8. For what it’s worth, Oladipo leads the group with 1.8 steals per a game.
So, if we are being fair here, it should really be Simmons or Walker as the second starter over Wade. Oladipo doesn’t have a bad case in most areas, especially when looking at the team’s overall success.
But objectively speaking, Simmons and Walker did more so far this season to earn the honor to start.
However, with Oladipo missing nearly a month due to injury, perhaps we should be grateful he has the votes he has so far.
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There’s still a reintegration process in Indiana as Oladipo adapts to an evolving Pacers team. We haven’t seen a fully operational Oladipo since the middle of November.
Indiana Pacers fans shouldn’t worry too much, however, as it seems unlikely that once all the votes are in and the coaches make their picks that Oladipo is left on the outside looking in.
Notes on the votes and what Indiana Pacers fans can do
LeBron James (1,083,363) of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (991,561) lead the voting overall. Oladipo’s nearly 200,000 votes put him in 25th place and 10th among the East.
Overall, Damian Lillard of The Portland Trail Blazers is ahead of him with 200,609 votes while DeMar DeRozan of the San Antonio Spurs trails with 197,524. In the East, Oladipo leads Blake Griffin (192,694) of the Detroit Pistons but is behind Jayson Tatum (214,622) of the Boston Celtics.
Former Indiana Pacers forward Paul George is 5th in the West’s backcourt with 580,055 votes, placing him 13th in overall votes.
So Pacers fans, are you really going to let Wade start in the All-Star Game, much less over Oladipo? We’ve told you once, but get out there and vote now.
To paraphrase the end of Wedding Crashers, I’m not standing here asking you to vote for Oladipo. I’m just asking you… not to vote for Wade. And maybe take a walk. Take a chance. Let the coaches put Wade (and hopefully Oladipo) in.