Luka Doncic On All-Star Selection: Damian Lillard "Maybe Deserved It More"

Luka Doncic says that “maybe” Damian Lillard deserved to be an All-Star over him.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who was selected to start in the All-Star Game, admitted, Saturday, that “maybe” Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard should have been chosen over himself. Lillard is likely to be chosen as a reserve for the lineup.

Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images

“I didn’t expect that I was going to start this game,” Doncic told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I know that maybe [Damian] Lillard deserved it more than me. At the end of the day, in two years, no one will know who started or not started. Only that you were an All-Star.”

CONFIG[‘slots’] = CONFIG[‘slots’] || {}; var code = ‘HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’; if (!CONFIG[‘slots’][code]) { CONFIG[‘slots’][code] = null; } googletag.cmd.push(function () { var code = ‘HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’; CONFIG[‘slots’][code] = googletag .defineSlot(‘/3858450/HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’, [[300,250]], code) .addService(googletag.pubads()); if (CONFIG[‘fillSlotsImmediately’]) { setTimeout(function () { googletag.pubads().refresh([CONFIG[‘slots’][‘HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’]]); }, 1000); } googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ // Fetch slots within 5 viewports. fetchMarginPercent: 0, // Render slots within 2 viewports. renderMarginPercent: 25 }); });

CONFIG[‘slots’] = CONFIG[‘slots’] || {}; var code = ‘kargo_embed_unit’; if (!CONFIG[‘slots’][code]) { CONFIG[‘slots’][code] = null; } googletag.cmd.push(function () { var code = ‘kargo_embed_unit’; CONFIG[‘slots’][code] = googletag .defineOutOfPageSlot(‘/3858450/kargo_embed_unit’, code) .addService(googletag.pubads()); if (CONFIG[‘fillSlotsImmediately’]) { setTimeout(function () { googletag.pubads().refresh([CONFIG[‘slots’][‘kargo_embed_unit’]]); }, 1000); } googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ // Fetch slots within 5 viewports. fetchMarginPercent: 0, // Render slots within 2 viewports. renderMarginPercent: 25 }); });

Despite his humbleness, Doncic is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, averaging 29.1 points, 9.4 assists, and 8.6 rebounds per game. The Mavericks as a whole, however, are lagging behind at 13-15 and 10th in the Western Conference.

Similarly, Lillard is putting together an impressive year as well with 29.8 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game, however, the Trail Blazers are performing notably better at 18-10 and in 4th in the Western Conference.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry claimed the other guard spot for the Western Conference’s All-Star starting lineup.

The remaining starters for the West include the Clippers’ Kawahi Leonard, Lakers’ LeBron James, and Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.

The 2021 All-Star Game will be held on March 7 in Atlanta.

[Via]