NBA All-Star Game’s 6 biggest snubs for 2026, ranked by egregiousness

The rosters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game are set, and it’s going to be more confusing than ever. This year’s All-Star game features a USA vs. The World format where three teams of eight players playing 12-minute games. Every all three teams (two American squads and one world team) play each other, the top two teams will advance to the championship game with the tiebreaker in pool play being point-differential.

Got all that? It’s enough to make you long for the days of East vs. West, but the lack of effort in the All-Star Game has provided so much bad PR in recents years that they had to distort the entire thing just to try to come out unscathed.

The rosters for the game are set, at least until commissioner Adam Silver has to add an injury replacement for Giannis Antetokounmpo. There’s only 24 roster spots for the All-Star Game, which means there’s always going to be snubs. Here are the players who had a case to make it this year but didn’t get chosen, ranked by how much they deserved it.

6. Julius Randle, F, Minnesota Timberwolves: I debated Brandon Ingram and Lauri Markkanen in this spot, but ultimately felt like Randle had the strongest case. The Wolves enter the week at 31-10, and Randle is having another very good season by averaging  22.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on 60.1 percent true shooting. Randle’s three-point shooting just hasn’t been good enough to earn an All-Star nod this year at 33.5 percent from deep, but he’s having one of his best playmaking seasons ever (24 percent assist rate). He is currently ranked in the 91st percentile of EPM. He didn’t deserve an All-Star spot, but he does deserve a mention for another awesome year.

5. James Harden, G, Los Angeles Clippers: Harden is still playing at a really high level at 36 years old, averaging 25.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game for a suddenly surging Clippers team. He still scoring efficiency with 60 percent true shooting. He’s taking the fourth most three-pointers per 100 possessions of his illustrious career (12.5) and he’s hitting them at a 35 percent clip while still being one of the league’s best playmakers (35.9 assist rate, which ranks in the 97th percentile of the league). Harden might have had a spot if the Clippers didn’t start so horribly this season.

4. Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers: Embiid has roared back to form over the last month, and it makes the 76ers a darkhorse threat in the East. He’s only played 28 games this year, but he’s averaging 26.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game on 60 percent true shooting. Embiid isn’t exactly all the way to back to his pre-injury form where he was a top-3 player in the world, but the fact that he’s gotten back to even “All-Star snub” level is pretty shocking after he bad he looked last year. Embiid turns 32 in March. Hopefully he has more All-Star nods in his future.

3. Alperen Sengun, C, Houston Rockets: Sengun had a strong case to get in over Chet Holmgren. Sengun is averaging 20.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game on 55.4 percent true shooting. His scoring efficiency might not be great, but Sengun does so much for the Rockets, from anchoring their defense (where he’s much improved) to acting as a playmaking hub to crashing the glass hard on every possession. The 23-year-old will have more All-Star opportunities in the future.

2. Kawhi Leonard, F, Los Angeles Clippers: Leonard always figured to be a side character at the All-Star Game with the Clippers hosting the weekend and his summer cap circumvention scandal with Aspiration still lingering. What’s more surprising is that Leonard has actually looked like an All-Star this year after a slow start: he’s averaging 27.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on scorching 62.8 true shooting. Kawhi is still a takeover scorer from mid-range, and he’s still automatic when he has an open three at 39.5 percent from deep. I would have had him in over LeBron James. He’s simply had a better season.

1. Michael Porter Jr., F, Brooklyn Nets: MPJ has gone from role player to leading man after his offseason trade from the Denver Nuggets to Brooklyn Nets, but unfortunately the Nets’ terrible season cost him an All-Star berth he deserved. Porter Jr. is averaging 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game on 61.8 percent true shooting. He’s been unlocked in Jordi Fernandez’s system with more off-ball actions that still make him a primary option. He’s shooting 40 percent on 9.6 attempts per game from three. He should have gotten Norm Powell’s spot.