Given the numerous black eyes the NBA has received over the past few years from such stars… Given the numerous black eyes the NBA has received over the past few years from such stars and teams as Kobe Bryant, Jerry Stackhouse, Allen Iverson and the Portland Trailblazers, rational thinking would say that the NBA would be eager to promote the clean and unblemished images of its two youngest and brightest stars.

But then again, that’s rational thinking, and this is the NBA.

Instead of naming Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James and Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony to the All-Star reserve rosters, the NBA chose to exclude them and include several players of arguably less talent, and with less enthusiasm for the game.

Yes, that’s right. The 2004 NBA All-Star game this weekend in Los Angeles will not feature the two front-runners for Rookie of the Year honors or the players responsible for the current most popular selling jerseys according to ESPN.com.

Instead, such players as Ron Artest, Jamaal Magloire, Andrei Kirilenko and Brad Miller will play in the All-Star Game. While I have nothing against these players and don’t want to take anything away from their great seasons, James and Anthony have outperformed all of these players on every level and deserve their spots in the All-Star Game.

Consider the Eastern trio of James, Artest and Magloire. James’ 20.9 points per game are more than Artest’s 17.9 and Magloire’s 12. Also, in the Western trio of Anthony, Kirilenko and Miller, Anthony’s 19.1 points per game tops Kirilenko’s 16.1 and Miller’s 14.7.

Last year, without James and Anthony, the Cavaliers and Nuggets both registered final records of 17-65. This year, with these two young superstars, the both teams have already improved — the Cavs have a 19-32 record, the Nuggets have nearly doubled their win total from last year with a record of 29-22. Right now, the Nuggets are in the eighth and final playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Even Cleveland, despite its current losing record, stands only three and a half games out of the playoffs.

Additionally, James and Anthony bring an excitement to the game that the NBA has not seen since the early 1990’s at the end of Larry Bird’s and Magic Johnson’s playing careers.

The addition of James to the Cavaliers has led to a 58 percent increase in home attendance, the largest one-year increase for any team not playing in a new arena since Jordan’s rookie season with the Chicago Bulls nearly two decades ago. Since Anthony’s arrival in Denver, the Nuggets have tripled their local television ratings and generated more than $4 million more than they had at the same time last year in gate and local sponsorship revenue.

Given these facts, it’s amazing that the NBA could not place James and Anthony on All-Star rosters. What’s the NBA’s excuse? Could it be that the NBA is trying to prove something? For instance, that it can survive the next two decades without these two remarkable talents, which it cannot. Or maybe it was a gesture by the NBA’s players and coaches, who might consider these two players to have too much power too early in their careers.

Whatever the case, I won’t be watching the All-Star game on Sunday evening. Instead, I’ll be watching the Rookie Challenge game on Friday night, where the real All-Stars will be in action.

David Shearouse thinks that the exclusion of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony from the All-Star game parallels Major League Baseball’s decision last season to exclude Ivan Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa from its All-Star contest. Agree or disagree with him at [email protected].