Joel Embiid: Why Sixers Star Missed Out on 2023 NBA All Star Starting Spot

• Joel Embiid missed out on an All-Star starting spot in the Eastern Conference
• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum were named ahead of him
• The Philadelphia 76ers star was fourth in overall voting

The highly anticipated 2023 All-Star starters have been named. And whereas most of the starters were obvious, one name was surprisingly missing. Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers star shockingly missed out as a starter despite many predicting the center will be selected. However, the Eastern Conference frontcourt position was highly contested.

Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo are having incredible individual campaigns and were tough competition for the Cameroonian.

The three players were all named starters. Embiid will obviously be named as a reserve and will make his 6th All-Star appearance. He is also building a case for MVP.

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Why Embiid missed out

The 28-year-old ranked third among East frontcourt players in the player and media rankings, but fourth in fan voting. He accumulated 4,900,482 fan votes to Tatum's 5,221,720, per ESPN.

With Durant, Tatum and Antetokounmpo ranking above him overall, he couldn't earn a starting spot, something which baffled many fans. One thing that jumps out is LeBron James has tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the player with the most All-Star selections with 19.

Fans react to Embiid's snub

As expected there were mixed reactions from fans but most of them were livid that Embiid did not ear a starting spot. Here are some fan reactions to omit Embiid as a starter.

"No one wants to see a dude hunting for free throws especially in an allstar game

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"Totally. It’s outrageous and Indefensible."

"He should honestly skip the game. It’s meaningless and the rest would do him well."

"He’s not better than Giannis or KD."

"You gotta take someone out of the line up if you make statements like that. So are we picking him over KD, JT or Greek Freak?"

"No matter what anybody says there are positions in basketball. They keep replacing centers with forwards and it’s ridiculous. Giannis is a forward, not a center. Embiid should have started."

Jokic vs Embiid

Sports Brief earlier compared two of NBA's best centers in Embiid and Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic who is the reigning MVP.

Both players are MVP candidates and both their teams are performing well in their conferences, with much of that owed to them.

Embiid is the 2022/23 points per game leader in the NBA. He averages 33.4 points while Jokic averages 25.1.