Why Do Fans Get To Pick The NBA All-Star Starters?

The starters for the 2012 NBA All Star Game were announced tonight for both the East and West teams and I wasn't all that surprised by the results. Voted by fans across the world, the starting line ups typically consist of the "superstars" of the league that one generally thinks of when the NBA comes in to mind. For the West squad, PG Chris Paul, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Kevin Durant, PF Blake Griffin, and C Andrew Bynum will be one of the youngest starting lineups that I have have seen in an all star game. For the East squad, PG Derrick Rose, SG Dwyane Wade, SF Carmelo Anthony, PF LeBron James, and C Dwight Howard (the leading vote getting amongst all players) will use their athleticism and experience to give the West team a great challenge. In my opinion, the East is going to absolutely demolish the West. But this is besides the point.
My real concern is why fans even get to vote for the starters in the first place. Yes, I understand the All Star Game is supposed to be a relaxed, fun game that gives fans the opportunity to cheer for all of their favorite players and also a way for players to show their appreciation to players, but it really doesn't make sense to me for one main reason: The general managers of the league get to pick the reserve players, but have no say in the starters. In my opinion, it should be the other way around. Fans should get to pick the reserves and general managers should pick the starters. In too many cases, I have seen players get selected as all stars when they really do not deserve it. For example, washed up players like Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson started for their respective conferences based solely off of their reputations and not by their skill later in their careers. This year is no different to me.

A Time of Few Centers

Dwight Howard

As the NBA has developed over the years, the center position has become somewhat of a lost art. Sure, there are centers in the league, but I mean true centers. These days, the NBA seems to be controlled by the guard and forward positions. When I think true center, only a couple of names come to my mind in today’s game: Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum. There are also emerging centers, such as Roy Hibbert, JaVale McGee, and Tyson Chandler, but Howard and Bynum dominate in their positions. I watched them play against each other on January 20 and it immediately brought to mind the great battles between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain during the 1960’s. The spotlight today is typically on players with high scoring potential, such as LeBron vs. Kobe. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this shift necessarily, but to me, the center position is what makes basketball my favorite sport.