Clyde

Initial NBA All-Star returns are in and... it's still a popularity contest. I made one NBA All-Star game in my career. Could I have made a few more? Maybe. Do I have regrets? Zero. But watching All-Star voting open up and seeing the NFL Pro Bowl rosters announced, I'm reminded: recognition lags reality. My take? These votes are based on name recognition, which comes from past performance, social media presence, and off-field narratives. Not necessarily who's having the best season right now. Every year, guys who absolutely deserve it get left off because someone with six All-Star appearances is getting voted in for their seventh even when they probably shouldn't. ESPN always runs a sorta snub list. It's usually young players in small markets or guys having career years who just don't have the brand yet. Look... It doesn't really matter outside of the contract incentives because your peers know what you did. But you'd still like to see people get acknowledged for what they're doing now, not just what they did three years ago. Same thing happens in, yup, business. The VP who's been chilling for five years gets the board seat over the director who's been crushing it for two. The founder with a Zero to One exit gets the meeting over the first-timer with the better idea. The big name gets the keynote over the person doing the most innovative work right now. Past success matters. Brand matters. Relationships matter. But we often forget to actually look at current performance when legacy is sitting right there. I've been the young guy getting overlooked. I've also been the established guy getting the benefit of the doubt. The system rewards momentum and legacy, which makes some sense. But it also means a lot of deserving people have to wait their turn even when they've already earned it. So... who are the All-Stars in your world that aren't getting the recognition they deserve yet? Who are your Ernest Jones and Deni Avdijas and Josh Giddeys and Kobie Turners? Drop their name in the comments. Let's give them some flowers while they're still in the game.