SAN ANTONIO — For the first time in 23 years, the Spurs will not have a player in the NBA All-Star Game.
With no Spur among the 10 starters announced last week, the Silver and Black had held out hope that forward DeMar DeRozan, who is having a career season, would land a spot on the Western Conference team as a reserve.
But DeRozan, a four-time All-Star in nine seasons with Toronto before going to San Antonio in the blockbuster trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors in the summer of 2018, missed the cut for the second consecutive season. A two-time All-NBA pick, DeRozan made the All-Star squad in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The Spurs were shut out of the All-Star Game, scheduled for Feb. 16 in Chicago, for the first time since 1997, when Tim Duncan was a senior at Wake Forest. Selected by San Antonio with the No. 1 overall pick of the 1997 NBA draft, Duncan was the cornerstone of Spurs teams that won five league titles before he retired after the 2015-16 season.
The NBA announced the All-Star reserves Thursday night. The league’s coaches select the seven reserves from each of the league’s two conferences.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert of Utah were both selected as reserves from the Western Conference. Brandon Ingram (New Orleans), Nikola Jokic (Denver), Damian Lillard (Portland), Chris Paul (Oklahoma City) and Russell Westbrook (Houston) were the other West reserves chosen.
Miami players Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were selected from the Eastern Conference, along with Kyle Lowry (Toronto), K Middleton (Milwaukee), Domantas Sabonis (Indiana), Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) and Jayson Tatum (Boston).
San Antonio had a player in 22 consecutive All-Star Games dating back to the 1997-98 season, when Duncan and David Robinson were selected. It was the longest active streak in the NBA. There was no All-Star Game in 1999 because of the NBA lockout.
This will mark only the third time in the 43 All-Star Games since the ABA-NBA merger that the contest will not a include a Spurs player.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge continued the Spurs’ streak of All-Star appearances last year, when he made the team for the second straight season. A seven-time All-Star pick, Aldridge is in his 14th NBA season and fifth with the Spurs. He made the All-Star team four times in nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers before signing with San Antonio as an unrestricted free agent in July 2015.
DeRozan has set a torrid pace since Dec. 21, averaging 25 points while shooting a scorching 59.1 percent in his last 20 games. He also is averaging 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
DeRozan scored a season-high 38 points on 11-of-19 shooting in the Spurs’ 127-120 victory against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
One of the best midrange shooters in the NBA, DeRozan has put up big scoring numbers despite almost completely eschewing the three-pointer. He has taken only 29 shots from beyond the arc this season, making just eight for 27.6 percent.
DeRozan eclipsed 1,000 points for the 10th straight season and 16,000 points for his career in the game against the Jazz. Only six other players – Aldridge, LeBron James, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry – have scored 16,000 points since DeRozan started his NBA career in 2009. DeRozan also joined James and Westbrook as the only three players to score at least 1,000 points in each of the last 10 seasons.
“It’s incredible,” DeRozan said after Wednesday night’s game. “Coming from Compton (Calif.), always dreaming of playing in the NBA. Now I have 16,000 points. It’s just an honor of mine. My health, being able to play in this game for a long time and being able to compete at a high level every single night. Being in a position to go out there and be the type of player that I am.”
DeRozan has averaged 23 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 47 games this season. He had 20-plus points and 3-plus assists while shooting 50 percent from the field for 13 straight games from Dec. 21 to Jan. 17. Only legendary Wilt Chamberlain had more consecutive games (19) with those numbers. DeRozan leads the Silver and Black in scoring and assists this season.
DeRozan has scored at least 30 points seven times in his last 20 games and nine times this season. The 38 points he scored against Utah were the most he has scored as a Spur.
Selected by Toronto with the No. 9 overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, DeRozan has averaged 20.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his career. He has shot 45.6 percent from the field.