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Many youthful followers won’t keep in mind it at the moment however there was a time when there was a reputable debate as to who the higher level guard out West was: Chris Paul or Deron Williams.
Clearly, in hindsight, that debate seems to be foolish however in his prime, Williams was among the best lead guards within the league and gave Paul a run for his cash.
Regardless, Williams was snubbed of All-Star honors on the peak of that debate again in 2007-08. That season, the Utah Jazz level guard was averaging 19.1 factors and 9.7 assists on the All-Star break whereas capturing over 51 % from the ground and over 40 % from three. The Jazz have been a robust crew that season, too, ending 54-28 on the yr and attending to the second spherical of the playoffs behind the stellar scoring and playmaking of Williams.
What finally ended up costing Williams his All-Star spot that yr was the fan vote, which noticed NBA supporters vote in fan-favorite Allen Iverson because the All-Star starter at level guard, inflicting the coaches to have to make use of the opposite lead guard spots on Paul, Brandon Roy (a monster earlier than the accidents) and two-time league MVP Steve Nash, leaving Williams out within the chilly.
Sure, that was Iverson’s final nice yr within the NBA so he most likely deserved his All-Star spot as he averaged over 26 factors and 7 assists that marketing campaign, however in response to a number of superior metrics, Williams was the higher participant that season. As additional proof, Williams completed 2007-08 as a 2nd Staff All-NBAer whereas Iverson didn’t get any All-NBA honors, so it’s debatable who ought to have been the All-Star that yr.
Oh, and for good measure, Williams was chosen the next summer time to play for a legendarily loaded Staff USA squad on the Summer time Olympics as a member of the Redeem Staff.
So finally, Williams, who would go on to make three All-Star appearances in his profession after that, ended up bouncing again properly from the snub.
