The NBA All-Star Game finalized the participants Tuesday with the announcement of the seven reserves for each conference. Notably, OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was left off the list.
Typically the reserves who are selected by coaches follow a specific pattern. Team records have historically been given high priority with coaches often sending multiple players from top teams.
Players who put up big stats but play for lottery teams seldom get the nod ahead of a player with decent production on a seeded team. And certainly, a player with comparable or better stats on a seeded team has typically been selected.
Another historical pattern of coaches’ votes is the tendency to reward two-way players over a star who puts up strong offensive numbers but doesn’t hit the mark defensively.
Coaches snub OKC Thunder, star Gilgeous-Alexander as All-Star Game reserve
Well, that pattern (particularly in the East) changed this year. Three seeded teams with multiple All-Star-worthy players were snubbed. That fact gives extra credence to arguments for why others didn’t get selected such as SGA.
Below you’ll find the list of seven reserves for each conference and the biggest snub from each conference. Coaches selected two backcourt players, three frontcourt players, and two wild card picks for each conference. The team seeding is noted in brackets.
Western Conference All-Star reserves:
- Damian Lillard, point guard, Portland Trail Blazers (5th)
- Donovan Mitchell, point guard, Utah Jazz (1st)
- Chris Paul, point guard, Phoenix Suns (4th)
- Anthony Davis, forward, Los Angeles Lakers (3rd)
- Rudy Gobert, center, Utah Jazz (1st)
- Paul George, guard/forward, LA Clippers (2nd)
- Zion Williamson, forward, New Orleans Pelicans (11th)
These seven players join LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Kawhi Leonard who were voted in as starters.
Of the current playoff seeds, the Jazz, Clippers, and Lakers have two representatives. Each of the teams ranked fourth through ninth have one representative except the Spurs.
Eastern Conference All-Star reserves:
- James Harden, guard, Brooklyn Nets (2nd)
- Ben Simmons, guard, Philadephia 76ers (1st)
- Julius Randle, forward, New York Knicks (7th)
- Jayson Tatum, forward, Boston Celtics (6th)
- Jaylen Brown, wing, Boston Celtics (6th)
- Nicola Vucevic, center, Orlando Magic (12th)
- Zach LaVine, guard, Chicago Bulls (as of one day ago -8th)
These seven players join the fan/player/media-voted starters including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Of the eight current playoff seeds the 76ers (2), Nets (3), and Celtics (2) each have multiple players on the squad. The two seeded teams snubbed were the Pacers and Raptors who are fourth and fifth.