It's always great to get recognition for stellar play. Maybe one player can use the snub as motivation to outperform the players selected instead of him.
Amid a four-game win streak, the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors, have been defying the odds in recent games. During a five-game road trip, Toronto was able to capture four-straight wins, including the finale against the reigning champions and top team in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The outbursts from Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes have really boosted this young team into legitimate potential for home-court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs. Quickley’s offense and Barnes’ defense have been on display of late, earning both of them Eastern Conference Player of the Week just two weeks apart.
Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (5) | © David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Through the injuries and constant changes to the beat-up starting lineup, two rising stars have emerged in Collin Murray-Boyles and Jamal Shead. With trade speculation so high for the Raptors, the rookie and sophomore are truly showing the management that they can be stars of the future.
With the NBA All-Star Weekend announcements rolling in, selections for the Rising Stars Game included two young Raptors.
Representing Toronto in the Rising Stars Game for the Rookie Team will be Murray-Boyles, and for the G-League Team will be Alijah Martin. Shead was not selected as a participant for the Sophomore Team.
While the Raptors have nothing to complain about with two participants already at All-Star Weekend, it’s interesting to see Shead not make the cut. The former No. 45 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has an interesting stat line because he averages just 7.2 points per game this season, and the only person to have single-digit scoring to be selected to either the Rookie or Sophomore team is his teammate, Murray-Boyles. Simultaneously, the only player on either team to average more assists per game than Shead (5.6) is San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle with 7.0.
The simple fact of the matter is Shead doesn’t get as much play time or have as much impact on his team as many of the other sophomores may have. He acknowledged this when asked about being snubbed for the team.
“I think everybody that made it is having really good years and contributing to their teams,” said Shead. “So, I’m not really worried about that. We got 2 guys that deserve to be in it also (CMB and Martin), and I’m really proud of them.”
Two players are locked in to represent Toronto, with potential for two more in Barnes and Brandon Ingram for the All-Star Game. They were ranked Nos. 10 and 11, respectively, in the All-Star voting, and there are 12 selected from each conference. If they are announced as All-Stars, it would be the second selection in each of their careers.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic spoke on the expectation of the two to make the All-Star Game, detailing the difficulty to coach against Ingram and the versatility of Barnes.