The Los Angeles Lakers may have a Big 3 on their hands as Alex Caruso rose into the top 10 for All-Star votes among Western Conference guards.
Jokes aside, he joins superstar teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the All-Star voting. James and Davis are in the frontcourt and rank first and fourth, respectively, in All-Star votes in the Western Conference.
* @KingJames took over the overall lead in All-Star voting with 4,369,533, while @AntDavis23 is fourth in the Western frontcourt with 2,329,371. @ACFresh21 is 10th among Western guards with 214,997.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) February 11, 2021
Caruso, a four-year role player for the Lakers, is averaging 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season through 19 games. He is shooting 45.9 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from three and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Despite his low averages, he’s garnered popularity among NBA fans, especially Lakers fans.
Alex Caruso has cracked the top-10 for West guards in the @NBA's All-Star voting 👀 pic.twitter.com/RQMkFC61LB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 11, 2021
It’s not uncommon for a role player or a player not meeting expectations to receive All-Star votes. For example, Klay Thompson, a perennial All-Star, is not playing this year but ranks eighth among Western Conference guards in All-Star voting.
Similarly, Zaza Pachulia, a career bench player who averaged 6.8 points per game for his career, was second in All-Star votes among frontcourt players in the Western Conference in 2017.
2017 NBA All-Star Game: West leaders in fan vote: 1.Stephen Curry 2. James Harden 3. Kevin Durant 4.Russell Westbrook 5. Zaza Pachulia pic.twitter.com/kaCQt3F3US
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 20, 2017
Although Caruso reached the top 10 in voting, he will most likely not make it to the All-Star game. The fans’ votes account for 50 percent of the decision while the other 50 percent is split between the media and current NBA players.
As much as Caruso is loved in the NBA community, his name will likely not appear on the All-Star game roster.
