Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam was selected to his fourth All-Star team this season, in spite of the team's poor record. And while many are happy that he is finally getting some much-deserved recognition, the same might not be said for those who believe he shouldn't have been selected because of Indiana's record, which seemingly includes San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox.
"Saw a [team] with the worst record in the league have an All-Star. I think when I was traded here, I think was averaging 25 [points per game], and I wasn’t an All-Star. I couldn't care less," Fox said in a media appearance on Tuesday.
"Saw a team with the worst record in the league have an All-Star... When I was traded here, averaging 25, wasn’t an All-Star… I couldn't care less.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 3, 2026
De'Aaron Fox on the Spurs only having 1 NBA All-Star when other contenders have 2 👀
(via @spurs) pic.twitter.com/xwLGjElCmQ
Fox didn't mention Siakam outright, but it's easy to connect the dots. Indiana's 13-38 record is the worst in the East and third-worst in the league. Nobody on the Sacramento Kings or New Orleans Pelicans made the All-Star team, and if we want to take it a bit further, nobody on the Washington Wizards or Brooklyn Nets (the two teams above the Pacers in the standings) made it either.
To be fair to Fox, he didn't directly say Siakam didn't deserve to be named an All-Star, but he was as close to saying it without actually doing it.
Is this going to be some sort of "De'Aaron Fox hates Pascal Siakam: confirmed" article? Obviously not. Still, some things just don't need to be said, and this was one of them.
Did Pascal Siakam deserve to be named an All-Star this season?
It's true that the Pacers have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, even if it's far from Siakam's fault. However, it's not like the Cameroon native was named the league's MVP. He was named an All-Star, which has always been an individual honor.
And even if it hasn't translated to many victories, Siakam is putting together one of his best seasons in the league and is carrying the Pacers on his back.
Through 48 games this season, Siakam has averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 48.5% from the field and 38.1% from deep. The one-time NBA champion had been named an All-Star three times prior to this season, and these numbers are all close to, if not better than, the ones he put up in those campaigns.
Siakam has been incredible for the Pacers this season. And given that he has long been one of the league's most underappreciated stars, it's only fair that he earned that recognition this year.