Iverson named All-Star starter despite worst year

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Iverson’s popularity lands starting spot for East All-Stars” is how NBA.com framed the issue in a headline.

“Fradulent” is how others might put it.

No one doubts that 76ers guard Allen Iverson remains popular, but critics of the All-Star voting system don’t think he should suit up with the best players in the league for the Feb. 14 game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

But the fans matter most in the NBA’s system for selecting All-Star starters, and they voted Iverson a starter for the Eastern Conference team despite his playing in only 19 games. It’s the 10th All-Star selection for Iverson, who is having the worst season of his career.

Iverson, struggling with a sore knee, indicated to NBA.com earlier this week that he’s flattered fans still want to see him. He said he would consider his health in deciding whether to play.

Starters were chosen through voting at NBA arenas and through electronic balloting. The reserves are voted on by coaches and will be announced next Thursday. Hawks guard Joe Johnson is expected to be chosen, and forward Josh Smith and center Al Horford also are in contention.

Iverson, who received 1,269,568 votes from fans, is joined in the East starting lineup by Heat guard Dwyane Wade, Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Celtics forward Kevin Garnett and Magic center Dwight Howard. Those are the same starters as last season in Phoenix.

The NBA avoided another voting controversy when Suns guard Steve Nash edged Rockets guard/forward Tracy McGrady to earn a starting spot. McGrady has played only six games for the Rockets, who are looking to trade him while he’s away from the team, but he was second among West guards in the previous voting update.

Nash overtook him in the final tally and is joined in the West starting lineup by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, Spurs forward Tim Duncan, Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony and Suns center Amare Stoudemire.

With Iverson and McGrady among the top vote-getters, Celtics guard Ray Allen called for a change to the voting system. He suggested this week that fan voting should count for half the total, with media and player balloting counting for the rest.

"I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they'd like to see in the All-Star game, but I don't think it should be 100 percent," Allen said.

The NBA responded that the event is staged for fans, so they should be able to see the players they want.

"Without the fans, there wouldn't be no us," Iverson told NBA.com earlier this week. "For them to want to see me, regardless of what's been going on, that says a lot about how they feel about me. I just thank ‘em for that."

Toronto forward Chris Bosh, who could make a case to be named a starter over Garnett, agreed that fans should have the final say.

"It's all about the fans," Bosh said. "It's all about who they want to see because they generate the dollars. They're going to watch the game, so they're going to vote for their favorite players, and that's probably how it should be."

While not as contentious as the Iverson and McGrady situations, the selection of Duncan as a starter instead of Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki might cause a stir. Duncan is listed as a forward though his game is more like that of a center.

Nowitzki is sure to be selected by coaches, but won’t start the game in his city, where as many as 80,000 are expected to attend.

“No Dirk as a starter?” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote on his Twitter account. “Time to change the rules for voting.”

Other than those circumstances, there’s little to argue about with the rest of the starters.

James received 2,549,693 votes to become the first player to get 2.5 million or more votes three times. He’s been an All-Star starter for six of his seven seasons in the league.

Bryant finished second with 2,456,224 votes. He’s making his 12th All-Star appearance.