2025 NBA All-Star Game: Tyrese Maxey, Devin Booker among biggest snubs

The full rosters for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game were unveiled Thursday night, and all the household names one would expect were represented: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and newcomers including Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama.

But not everyone was so lucky.

Every year, players get snubbed, and with parity in the league especially present this season, there were arguably more than usual.

Here were the five biggest to be snubbed from the 2025 NBA All-Star Game:

NBA All-Star 2025 snubs

5. Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)

Young is always a viable threat to lead the NBA in scoring, but he’s also leading the league in facilitating this year.

A three-time All-Star, Young is averaging 22.5 points, an NBA-high 11.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 40.0/34.0/85.4.

Atlanta is in the Play-In Tournament mix for a fourth consecutive season, an effort that recently had a wrench thrown in it with Jalen Johnson undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Without Young, though, the Hawks would be at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

4. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)

Phoenix has struggled to stay afloat in the Western Conference, but Booker hasn’t been the reason. He’s averaging 25.5 points, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 44.4/34.1/89.3. He has scored 30-plus points in 14 of the 41 games that he has appeared in this season. 

A two-time All-NBA honoree and four-time All-Star, Booker has continued to be one of the sport’s elite scorers. He has thrived with a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer and a recent rotation change that saw both Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkić come out of the starting five.

3. Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings)

Sabonis is having arguably the best season of his nine-year NBA career in the midst of a bumpy campaign for the Kings that saw them fire head coach Mike Brown in December. The big man is averaging a career-high 20.9 points, an NBA-best 14.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, while shooting 61.0/48.1/77.1. This is the third consecutive season that Sabonis, a two-time All-NBA honoree and three-time All-Star, has led the sport in rebounds. Sabonis has continued to make an impact as an interior scorer, on the glass and as a facilitator.

While De’Aaron Fox — who could potentially be moved before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline — is the driving force of Sacramento’s offense, one could argue that Sabonis has been as important to its operation on the whole. 

2. LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets)

Injuries surely played a role in Ball not making the All-Star Game, as he has been limited to 31 games this season due to various injuries, but the fifth-year player is still having a terrific season.

He’s averaging a career-high 28.2 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while shooting 41.9/33.7/82.0. His 28.2 points per game rank fourth in the NBA. While Ball gets up a high volume of perimeter shots, he has proven time and time again that he can get to the rim off the dribble as well as anybody and create for others. What’s more, he’s scoring at a career-best rate and pound-for-pound as well as 99% of the sport.

1. Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)

Maxey is balling out with chaos all around him. A season that has seen Joel Embiid play in just 13 games and Paul George miss 16 games has also seen Maxey keep the 76ers in the playoff hunt. Averaging a career-high 27.1 points, six assists and a career-high 1.9 steals per game, while shooting 43.8/33.7/87.1, Maxey has produced at an All-Star level. He has established himself as one of the best all-around scorers in the NBA and has an infectious bounce to his game.

Maxey, the NBA’s No. 6 scorer, has assumed leading scorer duties on a Philadelphia team that continually has conference final aspirations; he was worthy of his second All-Star Game nod.

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