Five Pistons, including Ben Wallace this year, make the All-Star ballot

Last year, Detroit Piston Ben Wallace was in the midst of a great bounce back season but was left off the All-Star ballot, which was annoying.

This year, however, Wallace is among five Pistons who are on the ballot. From a team release:

"AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Detroit Pistons stars Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon were named to the 2011 NBA All-Star ballot which was unveiled today by the NBA during a special tip-off event in Los Angeles, the Official Host City of NBA All-Star 2011. NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile will begin this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. The 60th NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at STAPLES Center on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011.Wallace, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner and five-time All-NBA Team selection, has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team four times during his 14-year career. He currently ranks 27th among league leaders in rebounding (7.9) and 38th in blocks (1.00). Hamilton, a three-time NBA All-Star, ranks sixth on the Pistons’ all-time scoring list and tied Bob Lanier for the most consecutive seasons leading the team in points per game (8) a year ago.Prince, a member of the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Championship Team, won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2008 Olympic Games in China and has been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team four times.Stuckey currently ranks 20th among league leaders in assists with a career-high 5.7 assists per game and leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Gordon, who was the first rookie in league history to be named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2005, ranks 20th among league leaders in free throw percentage (.889) and 27th in both field goal percentage (.520) and three-point field goal percentage (.452).2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, with associate partner 2K Sports, allows fans around the world to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game. There are several ways fans can cast their votes, including: at each NBA arena; in 20 languages on NBA.com; and through mobile phones by texting the player’s last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (“MYNBA”) or by visiting m.nba.com on any wireless carrier.For SMS voting, fans can vote for All-Stars any time by texting a player’s last name from their mobile phones on any wireless carrier. Fans can cast one SMS vote per day, per phone number. Message and data rates may apply. T-Mobile customers will receive an exclusive 15 percent discount code to NBAStore.com for voting via SMS voting. Upon voting, T-Mobile customers will get a bounceback message with a discount code for them to use on NBAStore.com.Fans can vote directly on NBA.com or use their Facebook profile information to help create an NBA.com All-Access account, which enables them to complete a ballot. After submitting their All-Star selections, fans will have the ability to share them with their friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter, and encourage others to cast their ballots.For the first time, fans can print paper ballots at home through their web connected HP Photosmart printer1. HP customers can simply download and launch the NBA print application directly from the touchscreen panel on the front of their printer.2 Fans can print one specially coded ballot per day and put it in the mail as directed on the form. Paper balloting at NBA arenas and through the NBA Print App on HP printers will continue through Jan. 17, while wireless and SMS balloting, and voting on NBA.com will conclude Jan. 23. Starters will be announced live on TNT on Jan. 27, during a special one-hour pregame show at 7 pm ET featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. The special will air prior to TNT’s exclusive doubleheader featuring the Miami Heat at the New York Knicks (8 pm ET) and the Boston Celtics at the Portland Trail Blazers (10:30 pm ET)."

Realistically, there’s little chance any Piston has a shot at getting on the All-Star team, but if anyone is deserving, it’s Wallace. And really, there isn’t a ton of competition at the center spot. Dwight Howard is a given, and Joakim Noah is probably up there in the second spot, followed by Al Horford. Neither of those guys are exactly big names, and coaches sometimes go with the lifetime achievement type picks when filling out the non-starting roster, so it’s not out of the question that Wallace could sneak onto the team.