Trey Murphy Discusses Being Snubbed From All-Star Weekend Competition

The New Orleans Pelicans don’t have a lot to celebrate this season. They are the second-worst team in the Western Conference with a record of 15–40, and they don’t even control their own pick in this year’s NBA Draft. This is probably the worst position to be in as a franchise. 

One bright part of the Pelicans' season, however, is that Trey Murphy III continues to establish himself as a potential star. Murphy is averaging 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He’s also doing this with impressive efficiency, shooting nearly 48% from the field and 38% from three. 

As one of the top-12 players in the league in three-point makes per game, many believed Murphy might be invited to participate in the Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. He wasn’t and recently addressed what he feels like was a “snubbing.”

“I got the same approach every day: is get better and play my game. At some point, it’ll be recognized that I’m one of the better shooters in the league. Until then, it is what it is. Gonna keep working on my game. Gonna keep shooting the ball like I have been. Me not being in the 3-point contest isn’t gonna ruin my day, but it is something that I definitely saw and wasn’t the biggest fan of.”

Murphy probably deserves to be in the All-Star Weekend's Three-Point competition. Of the other players who were invited, only three make more threes a game than Murphy. One (Damian Lillard) hasn't even played an NBA game this season, and another (Bobby Portis) isn't even in the top 50 players in three-pointers made per game. So while Murphy has a reason to be annoyed, he shouldn't feel too bad. The competition obviously is more about fanfare than having the best of the best shoot.