Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Luka Doncic was named holder in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. Doncic took second place in the Western Conference defense vote for Steph Curry and defeated Damian Lillard thanks to the tiebreaker vote.
Here is a complete analysis of the vote:
For Luka, this will be his second time as an All-Star holder in three years playing basketball in the NBA. That is the feat.
It was known that there would be a dispute between Luka and Damian Lillard for the second spot on the backcourt. Steph, basically imitating his unanimous MVP season (in terms of individual numbers), was stuck at number 1. Both Luka and Dame are having incredible seasons and it is an exercise in minutia trying to choose between the two.
Doncic averages 29.1 points per game with 47.5 percent of field shots and 33.5 percent of bottom shots to go along with 9.4 assists and 8.6 rebounds. Dame has an average of 29.8 points per game, with 45.1% of pitches and 38.4% of pitches to go along with 7.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds.
The numbers probably tend to favor Luka, but the Blazers are undoubtedly a better team at the moment, taking fourth place in the West with an 18-10 record. The Mavs’ struggles are well documented and the team is currently 10th in the West, with a record 13-15.
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter who starts and who leaves the bank. The only real thing about this is that Luka now qualifies for the “Derrick Rose Rule”. Essentially, this just means that he can sign 30% of the maximum instead of 25% when signing his extension. (Check out this article for more information on the “Rose Rule”.)
Even though Luka was voted into the tie by fan voting, it is still an honor to be named an All-Star holder. The game should probably not be happening, but as it is, it will be fun to have Luka as a starter.