By Lourence Alturino
Image from NBA.com
This year's NBA All-Star Game reserves have finally been revealed. The starters have already been announced as we got Kevin Durant and Lebron James as the captains for the East and West. The Eastern Conference also had Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid as their starters. The Western Conference had Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, and Nikola Jokic as their starters. All 30 of the league's head coaches were tasked to select the 14 other men to finish out both teams.
Eastern Conference Reserves
G: James Harden
G: Zach Lavine
G: Jaylen Brown
G: Ben Simmons
F: Jayson Tatum
F: Julius Randle
C: Nikola Vucevic
Eastern Conference Snubs
The biggest snub in my eyes is Indiana Pacers foward, Domantas Sabonis. The Pacers' power forward has so far averaged 21.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists on 52 FG% this season. He is the first player in NBA history to average 20/10/5 and not make the annual game. As the best player on the team, he has lead Indiana to the 4th seed in the East. Sabonis could definitely have replaced Ben Simmons on the team. Simmons has averaged 15.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists on 57 FG%. Obviously looking at these stats casually, you would think that Sabonis should've 100% made it over Simmons. While I do agree, I will also say Simmons is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and in the running for the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year.
Western Conference Reserves
G: Damian Lillard
G: Donovan Mitchell
G: Chris Paul
F: Paul George
F: Zion Williamson
F: Anthony Davis
C: Rudy Gobert
Western Conference Snub
Clearly the biggest snub of not just the West, but the entire game, is Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. This definitely infuriates me as a big fan of the All-Star level shooting guard. The biggest argument against Booker being in the game is that his team never gets enough wins to get him there. The Phoenix Suns are now the 4th seed of the Western Conference. Some would say that is credit to the addition of Chris Paul. I say Devin Booker deserves the nod over his Hall of Fame teammate. One of the best shooting guards in the NBA has averaged 24.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 50 FG%. There is simply no clear argument for Devin to not make the All-Star game this year.
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