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Whiteside no longer focused on 'gimmick' All-Star selection

USA Today Sports

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside is done with the All-Star Game.

The second returns on All-Star voting released Thursday don't even have Whiteside in the top 10 for Eastern Conference frontcourt players, a point that prompted an annoyed Whiteside to rip into the voting process for the fan showcase.

"People are going to vote for who they like," Whiteside told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. "It's more of a popularity thing. I mean, I can't really focus on that. I'm going to focus on coming out here and doing what's best for my team."

The Heat's woeful record precludes Whiteside from serious All-Star consideration, but his individual production is impressive nonetheless. He leads the league in rebounding (14.4) while also chipping in with 17.5 points and 2.2 blocks per game.

Whiteside laments a lack of campaigning for his predicament. While others like Joel Embiid are plugging themselves at every opportunity, Whiteside prefers to stand above the fray to let the fans decide.

"It's more so a gimmick. I look at guys and they just do stuff to win the fans over, make jokes on Twitter to get people to vote for them. It ain't got nothing to do really with talent."

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