Before the games tip-offed on Thursday, Derrick White was 10th in All-Star Game fan voting with 120,706. It’s a modest showing for one of the league’s best glue guys.
And then there’s Jimmy Butler and Anthony Edwards, an aging superstar who has asked his team for a trade and the stuck-in-neutral phenom struggling to find his way. Butler doubled up White in votes (257,901) and Edwards had over three times as many (411,749).
But on a night when White far outshined his counterparts with 26 points, two blocks, and a dagger 3 (5-of-10 from behind the arc) to close out Edwards and the Timberwolves, his performance is just another reminder that regardless of national recognition and star power, a player’s fit and role on a team in this league mean everything.