There's still a chance that D'Angelo Russell could play in this year's NBA All-Star Game, but for now he's on the outside looking in.
Russell was not among the players selected as reserves for this year's NBA All-Star Game, which were announced by the league on Thursday night.
Bradley Beal, Blake Griffin, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Victor Oladipo, Ben Simmons and Nikola Vucevic earned those spots for the Eastern Conference, but in the aftermath of the announcement, many people opined that Russell was snubbed – and the Ohio State basketball team's official Twitter account even hinted at it.
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 1, 2019
As Eleven Warriors' Kyle Jones wrote about earlier this week, Russell's resume would compared against fellow guards Beal, Lowry, Oladipo and Simmons – and ultimately, those four guards were chosen ahead of Russell, who is in the midst of a breakout season for the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 19.5 points and 6.4 assists per game.
The fourth-year NBA guard out of Ohio State, though, could still have a chance to make the roster, as Oladipo will not be able to play in the All-Star Game due to a season-ending injury. In a since-deleted tweet, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski speculated that Russell would be one of two leading candidates to replace Oladipo, along with Philadelphia 76ers forward Jimmy Butler.
