Recently in the NBA, star players have been getting injured and rested left and right. It gives the chance for another player to step up and take that role. With the trade of Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks and with Kevin Durant out with an injury, the Nets needed someone to take the role and lead the team. Cam Johnson decided to step up. Against the Washington Wizards he dropped 44 points coming off of the bench! Everyone thought this was a one time thing, but then against the Los Angeles Clippers he drops 47 points and 43 points against the Phoenix Suns. Scoring 134 points in three games after being a bench player. The question then sparks, have “star” players been taking away big opportunities from other players. Another story was when the best three point shooter ever, Steph Curry, went out with an injury in the Mavs-Warriors game in the third quarter. The very next game, Klay Thompson scored 42 points and they won.

While some may believe that becoming a leading scorer gives bench players an opportunity to become a role player, I believe that everyone wants to be a leader.  I believe that when star players play and even “ball hog” it takes away opportunities for other players. It just depends who wants to take charge and step up to that spot. Star players right now are all about scoring but if they can also give other players the ball, it will help their team and themselves. 

The All-Star game in the NBA happens about halfway through every season and it gives the smaller stars a chance to get chosen to play. It gives players that step up a chance to prove themselves and show why they are an All-Star. In this year’s All-Star game, there were four 1st time All-Stars including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and Tyrese Haliburton. Jaren Jackson Jr. has a star point guard Ja Morant on his team. When Ja Morant doesn’t shine like normal or is out for injury, he steps up. Jackson Jr. has become such a good role player that he was chosen to be an All-Star.

 While people may argue that on every team there needs to be role players, I argue that everyone on the team wants to be the star and I think that the bigger players take away that opportunity. It is very tough for a role player to become that star player. When the star players start showing why they are the number one player on the team, it is tough for them to go down. Even if they have one bad game, the fans and coaches know that they will play well eventually. If a role player has a really good game, they have to keep that going because the fans and coaches don’t know what they are capable of doing. Cam Thomas kept it going by having three 40+ point games in a row. He showed that he is a star player and deserves to be their number one. Star players take away opportunity for role players and they both need to be given the chance to prove themselves.