As much as we all wanted Azzi to be an All-Star, we also have to be realistic about everything that’s happened since she was drafted.
From day one, she’s been compared to Olivia nonstop. Even the media has been disrespectful toward her, and if she isn’t putting up big numbers, people immediately get online and criticize her. It feels like she’s constantly being judged under a different standard.
The players who made the All-Star team are great players and absolutely earned their spots. It just sucks that Azzi seems to have to prove herself over and over again. Even in the player voting, Olivia was ranked ahead of her, which shows how she’s currently being viewed around the league.
I’ve said this from the beginning: Azzi was put in an incredibly difficult situation. The expectations, the comparisons, and the constant discourse started the moment she was drafted. I still believe she was set up to fail, and that has shaped the way people evaluate her from the very beginning.