Sports

Justin Bieber cost Raptor Kyle Lowry nearly 40,000 all star votes

by Tyler Munro

Even when he’s not being a brat, Justin Bieber just can’t seem to do anything right these days.

On Thursday, the NBA will announce its 2015 All Star starters, and Raptors fans have been heavy on the campaign trail to get point guard Kyle Lowry the spot he so clearly deserves, especially after last year’s curious snub. Voting is as easy as writing Lowry’s name in a tweet with the hashtag #NBABallot, something Raptors fans have no doubt been bombarded by whenever Matt Devlin’s on the call.

And so when Justin Bieber tweeted on Monday that Lowry has been “killin it” and that he “deserves to be an nba all star,” it seemed like the push Lowry needed. With nearly 60 million followers, Bieber has more than enough clout to swing the vote. In the final returns tallied before the line-up is revealed live later this week, Lowry was third behind John Wall and trailing Dwyane Wade by about 10,000 in guard voting.

Unfortunately, Justin Bieber didn’t use the hashtag. Worse, or perhaps funnier, is that his endorsement has been retweeted nearly 38,000 as of this morning. Balloting for the 2015 NBA All Star game closed on Monday.

Of course it’s not all doom and gloom for Toronto. Sure, they’ve been sputtering of late, but they’re limping into a much-needed break sitting third in the Eastern Conference. As for Lowry, even if he doesn’t make the game on fan voting, there’s a pretty strong likelihood that he’ll squeak in when the coaches make their picks to fill out the roster. He’s got competition, with Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving on his tail, and Jeff Teague probably deserves to be there, too, but you’d have to think he makes it.

If he doesn’t? Watch out. Last year Lowry fuelled his All Star snub into a pretty monumental streak for the Raptors. If it happens twice, dude might go Super Saiyan.

The NBA will announce the All Star starters Thursday night on TNT before the San Antonio Spurs face off against the Chicago Bulls.