The flip side of the NBA All-Star selections is the All-Star snubs.
Leading this year's list are Dennis Rodman, Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber, Rod Strickland, Tom Gugliotta and Stephon Marbury.Rodman couldn't be happier with his snub. Webber was described as noticeably upset.
It appears Webber's recent arrest on assault and marijuana charges may have cost him some support among the Eastern Conference coaches who vote for the reserves.
Rodman may have cemented his fate by missing a shootaround last Friday and getting sent back to Chicago, but he didn't want to be chosen anyway.
Michael Jordan pointed out that Rodman trashed the home team every time he visited a different Eastern Conference city, thereby making enemies of opposing coaches along the way.
"Looks like he was really trying to get those two days in Vegas," Jordan said.
Actually, Rodman said he has parties planned that weekend in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Rodman had been on his best behavior all season, accumulating only seven technical fouls while missing none of the first 40 games. He also appears to be on his way to winning an unprecedented seventh consecutive rebounding title.
"It was not unexpected," Bulls coach Phil Jackson said of Rodman's snub following his "last little escapade."
"It's bad timing for him to do that. But I don't know if he really wanted to make it anyway," Jackson said.
Webber has been having a strong season, placing among the top 10 in scoring leaguewide, leading his team in rebounding and blocks and nearly leading the Wizards in steals.
Robinson is third in the league in scoring at 23.2 points per game, and Gugliotta has played well for the Timberwolves - scoring almost three points per game more than All-Star starter Kevin Garnett.
Strickland was left off despite being the league leader in assists.
Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Penny Hardaway of the Magic probably would not have made the team if the fans hadn't voted them in as starters.
"He eats up a spot. That's amazing," Richmond said of Bryant's se-lec-tion.
"Basically players are voted on how many commercials (they make)," said Jerry Reynolds, Sacramento's director of player personnel. "People that vote for these things don't have a clue about basketball. They don't know who the players are, in my mind. They know who's on commercials.
"People know who Penny is. If `Little Penny' (Hardaway's puppet sidekick on commercials) were on the ballot, he'd have probably started."
Miami guard Tim Hardaway criticized Penny Hardaway for returning from a knee injury just in time to start in the All-Star game.