Anthony Davis named reserve for 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto

Anthony Davis is now a three-time All-Star. The New Orleans Pelicans power forward will have to come off the bench this season for the West team in Toronto as he failed to repeat his selection as a starter by the fan vote. Poor team performance was not enough to deter the NBA coaches from putting Davis on the roster and he will be joined by Draymond Green, Chris Paul, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, James Harden, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

This is the third consecutive appearance on the All-Star team for Davis. In 2014 he was a last minute injury replacement for Kobe Bryant for the game played in New Orleans. Davis logged just under ten minutes and scored ten points as the West fell to the East led by All-Star Game MVP Kyrie Irving. Last year Davis was voted starter for the first time but did not play due to an injury suffered against the Chicago Bulls.

Many will point to a diminished stat line from Davis and the Pelicans poor performance as reasons Davis should not be on the team. This is an individual award however, and Davis surely qualifies. Davis is averaging 22.9 points (10th in the league), 10.2 rebounds (9th), and 2.4 blocks (2nd) this season while posting a still tremendous 24.7 PER. Good enough for 6th in the NBA. Every single player with a better PER is starting.

With three All-Star appearances Davis needs just one more to match the franchise record of four, held by fellow All-Star reserve Chris Paul.