Jefferson, Millsap miss out on All-Star selections

Karl Malone's 'All-Star Snub Game' remains a legendary story in Jazz lore. Two nights after not being voted in as a Western Conference starter -- an honor bestowed upon the Lakers' A.C. Green by the fans in 1990 -- Malone went off for 61 points and grabbed 18 rebounds against Milwaukee.

Twenty-two years later, the Jazz are feeling slighted again by All-Star voting -- this time from coaches who didn't select Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson to be reserves.

Neither player went off in a spurned fit of rage in the Jazz's 101-87 loss to the Thunder on Friday night. In fact, Millsap had one of his worst shooting nights, connecting on just 4-of-15 shots for 10 points.

Jefferson had a team-high 20 points in the team's third-straight loss.

They didn't deliver a Mailman-like message, but both players felt the Jazz as a team were snubbed by the coaches.

"Big Al deserved it," Millsap said. "Somebody on this team deserved to be there to represent this team."

Their admittedly biased coach believes the same thing. Tyrone Corbin said not being able to vote for his own players was the toughest part of filling out his All-Star ballot.

"I thought one or two or the both should really be considered for the All-Star voting," Corbin said. "I don't know where the voting ended up, but I was a little disappointed neither one of them made it."

Now in his eighth season, Jefferson said he's become used to using his annual All-Star omission to fuel his fire.

"If I make it, it's a wonderful thing," he said. "If I don't, just keep working hard and just keep trying to get better -- use it as motivation."

Because of his size (6-8) and small school (Louisiana Tech), Millsap has become accustomed to being underappreciated or ignored. He's played with a chip on his shoulder trying to prove he belongs in the NBA ever since being picked up late in the second round in 2006 by the Jazz.

"I've been overlooked. This ain't the first time. It's not going to be the last time," Millsap said. "I'll just continue to do what I've been doing. Things are where they are. Things happen for a reason, I believe."

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