D’Angelo Russell Will Make His First All-Star Game As Victor Oladipo’s Injury Replacement

Brooklyn Nets guard D’Angelo Russell is official an All-Star for the first time in his career. The 2019 NBA All-Star Game reserves were announced on Thursday night, with Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo making it for the second year in a row. However, due to the season-ending injury he suffered last month, Oladipo is not able to participate in the game.

One day later and we learned that his replacement will be none other than Russell, as NBA commissioner Adam Silver selected the fourth-year guard to participate in the festivities a little later this month in Charlotte.

There are plenty of players who deserved the opportunity to replace Oladipo, but Russell makes a ton of sense. Beyond the fact that Silver usually picks these types of players based on who is next in line, Russell has been really good for the surprising Nets this season. He’s averaging 19.6 points and 6.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game, shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from three, all career-best marks.

It’s unfortunate that a player as good as Oladipo can’t make it to the game because of an injury, because he absolutely deserves this honor, but it is cool that a young dude who hasn’t been there before like Russell will go in his place.