For his next trick, Russell Westbrook will need to sprout wings, fly through an arena and dive into the hoop from the pike position.
Because averaging a triple-double isn't as an impressive a feat as he thought.
In the biggest upset of the NBA season, Westbrook was not voted as an All-Star starter despite channeling Oscar Robertson.
The people have spoken and they disagreed with the current players and media who voted: They chose Steph Curry and James Harden over Westbrook as backcourt starters for the Western Conference.
With only two starting spots available, one of these guards was going to get his feelings hurt.
It's hard to believe it's Westbrook, who is chasing history. He is averaging a league-leading 30.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game for Oklahoma City, looking to become the first player to average a triple-dub through a season since Robertson did it in 1960-61.
"Fake news," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told ESPN after learning of the Westbrook snub. "I am just shocked the fans don't see the same thing we see."
The league's new weighted All-Star voting format this season included players and media casting ballots. Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the starters while current players and media accounted for 25 percent.
Westbrook actually tied Curry and Harden when the points were tallied, but lost out to Curry and Harden in the tiebreaker: fan votes.
Despite finishing first in the media and player voting, he wound up third in the fan balloting behind Curry and Harden. Curry received nearly 300,000 more votes than Westbrook and Harden 200,000 more than Russ and Hillary Clinton. (Just seeing if you're paying attention.)
Curry maintains his popularity. He was the leading vote-getter in the West, meaning one thing:
Golden State, which extracted Kevin Durant from OKC in free agency, pulled one over on Westbrook again.
Durant's exit has driven him. Now All-Star voters have tossed another log on his motivational fire.
"It is what it is," Westbrook said Friday. "That's the nature of the business, the game. I just play. I don't play for All-Star bids. I play to win championships and every night I compete at a high level, and it'll work out."
Full disclosure from me as an All-Star voter: My West backcourt starters were Westbrook and Harden.
You can't talk about Westbrook having a season for the ages and not reward him. Harden is the sole reason that the surprising pop-a-shot Rockets are on the Warriors' heels in the standings. As for Curry, he isn't shooting the ball like he has in the past, perhaps still adjusting to Durant's presence.
Westbrook will be added to the West as a reserve. But the most fascinating part of Russ heading to the All-Star Game is him being on the same team again _ sharing the same locker room again _ with Durant.
That will be a weird, uncomfortable dynamic for everyone on the West club unless the two estranged buddies make peace before the exhibition in New Orleans. Chances of a detente beforehand are listed as doubtful.
