Byron Scott: Coaches would vote Kobe an All-Star ‘out of respect’

NBA coaches, infamously, don’t usually take All-Star Game voting very seriously. They’re charged with determining who stands in as reserves, once the fan voting for starters ends, but the group of 30 usually leave it to their assistants to pencil in roster spots six through 12.

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Kobe Bryant, as it’s always been, tends to stir emotions and interest, however. This is why, had some clerical error gone terribly wrong and had he not been voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his final NBA season, the coaches would likely go out of their way to vote Kobe in despite his very un-Kobester-like year.

Laker coach Byron Scott assumes as much. From Michael Pina at Bleacher Report:

“I think the coaches would, yeah,” Lakers head coach Byron Scott said. “Out of respect.” 

Thunder head coach Billy Donovan’s take is nearly identical: “I don’t want to speak for all the coaches, but it would be more of a respect thing in terms of what he’s done in this league for a long period of time…You look at all the championships and the individual accolades and those kind of things, but I think one of his greatest qualities is he’s an unbelievable competitor that thrives in that environment.” 

Scott and Bryant needn’t worry. Kobe leads all NBA players in All-Star voting, following the third round of releases, with over 1.5 million ticks. That’s nearly twice as many as LeBron James has taken in, and a few hundred thousand more than likely NBA MVP Stephen Curry. Bryant is shooting just 34.7 percent from the field this year, his Lakers are 9-34 and rank dead last in defensive efficiency and second-to-last in offense, but it’s obvious the fans want to see one more go-round with Bryant on the All-Star stage

Which is absolutely just fine. No, Kobe Bryant hasn’t provided an All-Star season, and his inclusion will bump a more deserving reserve (much less starter) off of the roster, but this is an exhibition game designed solely to entertain. Fans would vote Michael Jordan in, if they could, and they’d vote to put Larry Bird back in the three-point contest and LeBron James in the dunk contest, if such things were possible. It’s about them, and not about 34.7 percent from the field.

To his credit Bryant (unlike the league’s commissioner) hasn’t attempted to sway voters, and his placement in an exhibition game wouldn’t be anything like a legacy selection at the hands of Team USA. Thankfully, Kobe has taken himself out of consideration for a spot in the 2016 Olympics, as such a move would have denied a more deserving player a chance at a gold medal.

Such a move by the league’s coaches wouldn’t be without precedent, either.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was voted into the 1989 All-Star Game during his farewell season after failing to make the game as a fan-voted starter (then-Akeem Olajuwon, rightfully, got that nod) by the league’s coaches. It was a fitting farewell for The Captain, who would score a sky hook in the game’s final play, topping off a legendary career that ended just a few months later with Los Angeles’ playoff defeat against Detroit in the NBA Finals.

Kobe’s Lakers will have no such return in spring, much less summer. Barring a series of miracles, or a 32-7 run to end the season, Los Angeles will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. At this point, fans are just hoping that Kobe’s body allows him to make his way toward game No. 82 – he’s suffered season-ending injuries in his last three NBA seasons.

This is what makes his All-Star Game placement, on Feb. 14, so crucial. And the league’s coaches, just as the league’s fans, are correct to give him one final send-off on a national stage.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops