The NBA All-Star Game for the 2021-22 season is set to take place on Feb 20th in Cleveland, Ohio and the starting teams for the event were recently revealed. While the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James were shoo-ins, there was one selection that received quite a bit of backlash from fans and media alike. Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors was selected as a starter for the All-Star game, much to the chagrin of quite a few people.
A simple way to understand why this has ticked off parts of the NBA community is to look at Russell Westbrook’s case. Since his move to the Lakers in the offseason, Westbrook has endured a ton of criticism, thanks to the Lakers losing and his inefficient play. The expectations from Westbrook are that he should play at a very high level, something that the point guard has been unable to do for Los Angeles.
However, his statistics are still more impressive than Andrew Wiggins. Despite being one of the most criticized and maligned players in the NBA this season, Westbrook leads Wiggins in every major statistic except blocks. Not just that, his efficiency from the field is not that far behind Wiggins, even though the Golden State man has been significantly better from three-point range.
Russell Westbrook is averaging 18.9 points to go along with 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game this season, while Andrew Wiggins has 18.2 points with 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Wiggins is shooting 48% from the field, with Russ managing 44%, neither of which is spectacular. Now obviously, their teams have different records, with the Warriors boasting the second-best record in the entire league and the Lakers barely keeping their head above water as the 9th seed, but there is very little individual difference between the two.
There are some other factors to take into account, of course, the fact that Wiggins is a frontcourt player and Westbrook is a guard is one of them. Westbrook also has way more turnovers, leading the league in that particular stat. However, the point still stands considering that while Wiggins is a starter, it’s highly unlikely that Westbrook even makes the team this season.
