The NBA revealed the 10 All-Star starters for the 2024/25 season last Thursday, featuring the typical five players from each conference. This coming Thursday, the All-Star reserves will be announced on TNT.
Today, we’ll be focusing on the Eastern Conference reserves, which are voted on by coaches from around the league. Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Karl-Anthony Towns comprise the East’s starting lineup, leaving seven open spots off the bench.
While the East’s talent pool is generally not as well-regarded as the West’s, there are plenty of players having All-Star caliber seasons in ’24/25. His vote obviously doesn’t count, but Zach Harper of The Athletic says his picks would be Damian Lillard, Trae Young (two backcourt spots), Evan Mobley, Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam (three frontcourt spots), Cade Cunningham and Darius Garland (two wild card spots).
Had they been healthier, Harper writes, Magic forwards Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero would have been in the conversation for Siakam’s spot, but they both missed extended time with torn obliques. Nikola Vucevic, Jarrett Allen and LaMelo Ball are the other players who received consideration from Harper but didn’t make his final cut.
They aren’t mentioned in Harper’s story, but Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Johnson and Scottie Barnes are among the other candidates in the East who could be voted in by coaches. I’d be pretty shocked if Josh Hart or Derrick White get selected, but they’re both having solid seasons too.
I think Herro probably has the most compelling case of the players that Harper omitted. He has been Miami’s best and most consistent player, has only missed one game, and has been highly efficient offensively.
But I don’t think he deserves to be selected over Lillard, Cunningham or Garland, and Young leads the NBA in assists per game by a significant margin. The Heat and Hawks have almost identical records and neither player is a great defender, so there isn’t much of a differentiator there. Tough call between those two.
Allen is a very good player, but his stats aren’t gaudy, and I don’t expect to see four Cavaliers in the All-Star game. Ball’s stats are gaudy, but his efficiency isn’t great, he doesn’t guard, he has missed several games due to injuries, and Charlotte has the fourth-worst record in the NBA.
Haliburton, Maxey and Barnes made the cut in ’23/24, but their numbers have largely declined in ’24/25. Team record and missed games could work against Maxey and Barnes as well.
LaVine and Vucevic are having great offensive seasons. Neither is known for their defense, and the Bulls are just 19-27. Johnson has missed nine games.
Hart has arguably been more impactful to winning for the Knicks than Siakam has been for the Pacers. But he’s fifth on the team in points per game (Siakam leads Indiana in that category) and including him would mean three Knicks (30-16, No. 3 seed) would make the All-Star game vs. zero Pacers (25-20, No. 5 seed). It’s hard to envision that happening.
We want to know what you think. Which players should be selected as All-Star reserves in the Eastern Conference? Did we miss anyone who deserves consideration? Head to the comment section to weigh in.
I mean… I can’t imagine they consider defensive ability TOO seriously for the All-Star weekend…
Trae Young (42 GP, 1515 MP)
17.6 PER
56 TS%, 28 USG%
5.0 REB%
47 AST%, 2.5 A/T
2.3 STK%
0.3 BPM (2.6 OBPM, -2.3 DBPM)
22-23 Record (9th)
2-1 w/o him
Tyrese Haliburton (44 GP, 1508 MP)
19.8 PER
59 TS%, 21 USG%
35 AST%, 4.8 A/T
6.0 REB%
3.4 STK%
4.0 BPM (4.6 OBPM, -0.6 DBPM)
25-20 Record (5th)
0-1 w/o him
Leading the league in Assists isn’t a compelling argument (especially since he ALSO leads in Turnovers). That doesn’t make him the best playmaker.
That’s the definition of playmaker. A scorer with vision that can pass. Either you score or you pass to score. There is no better playmaker than Trae.
0Trae Young, a point guard for the Atlanta Hawks, led the NBA in both points and assists during the 2021–2022 season. He averaged 28.4 points and 9.7 assists per game.”
These stats make him responsible for over 50 points of teams total. No one is better.
If no one will trade for you and your contract you are not an all-star. No Trae, No Lavine, No Vuc, No Ball. All are on untradeable contracts.
I think Darius Garland has proven he deserves it more than Mobley but thats just me
The nba needs to stop with this east/west thing for the all star game. The best players should make it. If the 24 best players are all in the same conference so be it, they shouldnt be penalized for it. We have already seen guys like Mike Conley and CJ McCollum being heavily affected by this.
I had Cade and Dame/LaMelo as starters instead of Brunson and Mitchell.
So the subs should be…
Dame, Cade
Vucevic, Jalen Johnson, Mobley
Hart, LaMelo
Injury subs…
Barnes and Herro
Brunson would have been a sub for me, Mitchell would not.
7 more players ——-
Maxey, JBrown, Bam, Trae, Garland, Dame, Cade,
But probably have to add a big. So Garland could be left off.
Tyrese Maxey belongs.