Embiid doesn't understand why Kemba got All-Star nod over Simmons

Members of Team LeBron were dropping like flies due to injury, and despite getting three additional opportunities to crack the All-Star squad as a replacement, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons just couldn't make the cut.

Joel Embiid can understand why commissioner Adam Silver picked certain players over his Sixers teammate, but there's one replacement the 23-year-old big man just can't see the logic behind.

"I think (Simmons) should've been an All-Star because Goran Dragic got picked to play and John Wall. At the time, Miami had the fourth-best record in the East and they didn't have any All-Stars, so I feel like that was the reason they didn't pick him (Simmons), and then (Andre) Drummond, he's in the playoff race and his numbers are insane and I could see why they picked him because Detroit didn't have an All-Star either," Embiid told For The Win's Alysha Tsuji on Thursday.

"The only one I didn't really understand was Kemba (Walker) because we have the better record. Ben's numbers are better than all those guys ... he's one of the best defensively in the league. I don't know. I wouldn't say there's anything against rookies in the league, but it's hard. That's a hard decision Adam Silver has to make. Starting next year, Ben is going to have many opportunities to be an All-Star, but he should've been an All-Star."

It was fairly common in the '80s and '90s for a first-year talent to make the All-Star team; 15 players did so between 1980 and 1998, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. Only two players (Yao Ming and Blake Griffin) have earned that distinction since the dawn of the new millennium.

Philadelphia is currently in the playoff picture with a 30-25 record, while Walker's Charlotte Hornets are 23-33. Among the active All-Stars, Walker's .421 winning percentage with Charlotte is the lowest of the bunch.

Simmons ranks 19th overall in the East in scoring, while Walker is well ahead at eight. In several other statistical categories, though, Simmons leaves him in the dust.

Embiid, at the very least, will be starting as part of Team Stephen on Feb. 18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after getting voted in.