All-Star Game

Last Thursday, the NBA revealed the 10 players – five from each conference – voted as starters for the 2025 All-Star Game. This coming Thursday, the All-Star reserves will be announced on TNT.

We opened up a discussion on Monday about which players were most deserving of All-Star reserve recognition in the Eastern Conference. Today, we’re shifting our focus to the Western Conference, where Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have been named starters.

That leaves seven spots to fill in the West — two in the backcourt and three in the frontcourt, along with a pair of wild cards. The reserves will be voted on by NBA coaches, not fans, but we want to get your feedback today on which players have earned those spots.

Naming his seven picks, Zach Harper of The Athletic prioritized frontcourt players, with Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, Lakers forward/center Anthony Davis, and Thunder forward Jalen Williams joined by wild cards Alperen Sengun of the Rockets and Domantas Sabonis of the Kings. Harper’s two guards were Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves and Norman Powell of the Clippers.

It looks like a pretty safe bet that Wembanyama and Davis will make the cut. They also showed up on John Hollinger’s seven-player list for The Athletic, as did Williams, Sabonis and Edwards, all of whom have very compelling cases too. However, Hollinger passed on Sengun and Powell in favor of Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving.

Jackson would be an easy choice for me, and I was a little surprised not to see him among Harper’s picks. The former Defensive Player of the Year is once again anchoring Memphis on that end of the court while having the best offensive season of his career, with 22.8 points per game on .499/.355/.782 shooting. The Grizzlies rank third in the West with a 31-16 record despite Ja Morant missing 19 games so far. Jackson has arguably been the driving force behind that success.

If I had a vote, I’d make Wembanyama, Davis, and Jackson my frontcourt selections, with Edwards in the backcourt. The second backcourt spot is trickier.

Luka Doncic would be the obvious favorite if not for the injuries that have limited him to 22 games. Devin Booker and De’Aaron Fox have put up big scoring numbers, but their teams have hovered around .500 and their shooting percentages have been below their career rates. Irving has a solid case, as does James Harden, whom I’d put ahead of his Clippers teammate Powell due to his play-making and the fact that Powell greatly benefits from all the defensive attention on Harden.

As Hollinger notes, Williams doesn’t spend a whole lot of time at shooting guard but could perhaps qualify there for the sake of this exercise. Although his scoring stats aren’t as gaudy as some of his competitors, his two-way impact for the West’s top seed makes him a worthy candidate.

If I make Williams my second backcourt pick, I’d probably take Sabonis and Sengun as my wild cards, though as noted above, there are reasonable arguments to be made for Booker, Fox, Irving, Harden, Powell, and Doncic, among others.

We want to know what you think. Which seven players would you pick as All-Star reserves in the Western Conference? Is there anyone I didn’t mention who deserves serious consideration?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

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.

The 2024/25 NBA season has been full of surprising performances, from emerging young players and teams alike.

With 24 slots available, will any players make their All-Star debuts next month?

Both of the two best teams in the league, by record, sport young rising talents who could break through this year.

The loaded Cavaliers, currently an NBA-best 35-6 halfway through the year, boast three veteran All-Stars in Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen. Mitchell and Garland seem all but assured to make the cut next month, but All-Defensive forward Evan Mobley, the No. 3 pick in 2021 out of USC, has taken a leap this season. If coaches want to reward Cleveland for its breakout campaign with a third All-Star, Mobley seems to have a better shot at the honor than Allen.

Third-year forward Jalen Williams is the second-best player on the 34-7 Thunder, behind perennial MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. An excellent defensive player who plays a lot bigger than his 6’5″ frame would suggest, Williams is still working to elevate his offense and become a true, championship-level secondary scoring option behind Gilgeous-Alexander. But he’s already done enough to prove his mettle as one of the league’s most exciting young players.

The 23-year-old is averaging a career-high 20.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks a night.

Another 2021 draftee, former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, has helped propel his revitalized Pistons to a 21-21 record and the East’s No. 8 seed. Cunningham individually has made a pretty solid case for All-Star consideration, and to this writer feels like the safest bet among this crop of potential newbies — well, the second-best, actually. We’ll get to the best in a minute.

This season, Cunningham is averaging 24.3 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game. Those eye-popping numbers, combined with Detroit’s remarkable turnaround from a horrific 2023/24 season, should firmly establish him as an All-Star this year. The 6’6″ Oklahoma State alum is also posting an efficient shooting line of .450/.368/.805.

Magic forward Franz Wagner was making a convincing case to make his All-Star debut this year, before he was felled by an abdominal injury. He has now missed too much time to realistically have a shot, but All-Defensive Team guard Jalen Suggs — who has stepped up as a scorer — could be Orlando’s lone representative this season.

The Magic have performed ably while dealing with long-term absences to Wagner and Paolo Banchero, and Suggs’ stabilizing presence has been a huge part of that. With Banchero back and Wagner hopefully returning soon, Orlando could start vaulting up the Eastern Conference standings again soon enough.

Another All-Defensive Team guard, Celtics champ Derrick White, looked to be on the cusp of making his first All-Star team this year, at age 30, thanks to some strong two-way play early this season. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist has fallen back down to earth a bit across the last month, but his reputation and team success might still help him get there.

In one of the happiest surprises for the season, the young Rockets have looked like one of the best teams in the league. Their 28-13 record makes them the No. 2 seed in the West, behind only Oklahoma City. If anyone is to be named an All-Star among Houston’s cadre of talented young players, center Alperen Sengun would be the best fit as the club’s best two-way player. The 6’11” big man has been averaging 19.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists across 41 healthy games so far.

One player, to this writer, stands tall — literally — above the rest.

Spurs superstar-in-waiting Victor Wembanyama seems all but assured to make his first of many, many All-Star teams this year.

The 7’3″ big man has taken the league by storm in just his second season, pushing his club to a solid 19-21 record in the West. Already the odds-on favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year according to BetMGM’s Shane Jackson, the 7’3″ center has rounded out his offense, too. The additions of solid vets Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, plus impressive rookie guard Stephon Castle and the growth of some young incumbents, appear to have helped expedite the 21-year-old’s development.

The reigning Rookie of the Year is averaging 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for San Antonio. A talent who can score from anywhere, the Frenchman boasts a shooting line of .474/.353/.868.

Amid some major Jimmy Butler-related turmoil, Heat guard Tyler Herro has become Miami’s most reliable regular season scorer, especially in the clutch. Although there are still questions about his defense, the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year could be the Heat’s lone All-Star representative in February thanks to his stellar output on the other end.

Bulls guard Coby White was playing like a fringe All-Star last season as the top performer on a play-in Chicago team. This season, on the No. 10-seeded Bulls, White’s numbers are pretty comparable to his 2023/24 run, but his play has been overshadowed by Chicago’s two veteran All-Stars, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. Either of those two pros seems to have a better chance of being named to his third All-Star squad than White does of making his first.

We want to hear from you. Who, if anyone, do you think should make the All-Star team for the first time this year? Are there any other names worthy of discussion?

Let us know in the comments section below.