San Antonio’s coach called out De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle snubs while defending his record-setting team with only one All-Star
Mitch Johnson didn’t wait to be asked
After Tuesday’s 136-108 victory over the depleted Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs coach stood at the podium during his postgame media availability and basically said: “I’m going to answer a question nobody just asked me, and it’s about the All-Star Game.” What followed was the kind of subtle, pointed commentary that tells you everything about what Johnson actually thinks about the selection process and how frustrated he is that his teammates got snubbed while other teams parade.
“I do think it’s very interesting that De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle have not been named an All-Star,” Johnson said, his tone somewhere between confused and irritated. That’s coach-speak for “this is absolutely ridiculous and I’m calling you out for it.” Fox is a former All-Star averaging 19.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. Castle, the rookie sensation, is putting up 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.0 assists while earning a reputation as one of the most tenacious perimeter defenders in the entire league. These aren’t marginal players being overlooked. These are legitimate contributors to a winning team.
Johnson’s real point was buried in his follow-up comment
“Seven teams in this league have multiple, and we’ve played pretty good against a lot of the top teams in this league,” he said. Translation: we’re the third-best team in the NBA. We’re winning against the best competition. We’re doing this with basically one All-Star. So either we’re magically great at basketball, or your All-Star selection process is broken. Probably the latter.
The timing of Johnson’s comments made them even more pointed
Hours before his postgame availability, the NBA announced that Toronto’s Brandon Ingram was named an injury replacement for Golden State’s Stephen Curry in the All-Star Game. Ingram becomes the second All-Star on the Raptors alongside Scottie Barnes. He’s averaging 22.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Those are solid numbers. But the Spurs have players putting up similar or better production on a much better team, and those players still aren’t getting the recognition.
Victor Wembanyama is the Spurs’ lone All-Star, and he’s basically carrying the franchise into MVP consideration. He didn’t explicitly say that, but his closing comment said it for him: “Nothing to take away from anybody who has been named an All-Star, because they have a lot of great players. But the only way I can think we are deserving of only one All-Star means there must be an awful lot of people that have Victor Wembanyama as one of the front-runners for MVP. So thanks for asking.”
That’s the nuclear option of All-Star commentary. He essentially said: if you’re not naming our other guys All-Stars, the only logical explanation is that everyone thinks our young star is an MVP candidate. And if he’s MVP-level, then maybe your selections are just compensating for the fact that you’re terrified to admit our team’s actual depth.
The uncomfortable truth Johnson highlighted is that All-Star selections sometimes ignore team success
The Spurs are 37-16, the third-best record in the NBA. They’re the best team in the league without multiple All-Stars. Fox and Castle are playing important roles on that team. Castle especially deserves recognition as one of the most impactful rookies in the league this season. But the Game operates on a different logic than regular season records. It’s about star power, fan votes, and narrative recognition.
He made it clear he understands that logic. He’s not bitter about it he’s just pointing out the absurdity. If the Spurs are this good with only one All-Star, and other teams need multiple to compete, then maybe the selections aren’t actually reflecting basketball reality. And that’s the kind of comment that makes people reassess their voting.
By the way, the Spurs just beat the Lakers 136-108. So Johnson had the ultimate mic drop to back up his words.
