Who should the coaches select as NBA All-Star Game reserves? Here are my picks.

The fans have had their say… mostly. They wanted LaMelo Ball to be an All-Star starter, but the players’ votes (had him third) and mostly the media (seventh) ended that. However, the media wanted Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Davis to start over LeBron James and Kevin Durant, but they didn’t get that wish, either.

The NBA All-Star Game starters have been chosen, and now it falls to NBA coaches — or the assistants they pawn this off on — to select the reserves for each conference. Those coaches must vote for two guards, three frontcourt players, and two wildcards — seven players total from each conference. Their choices will be announced next Thursday.

Who should they vote for? We’re going to break it down, but first, let’s remember who are the starters:

Western Conference Starters

G. Stephen Curry
G. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
F. Nikola Jokic
F. LeBron James
F. Kevin Durant

Eastern Conference Starters

G. Jalen Brunson
G. Donovan Mitchell
F. Giannis Antetokounmpo
F. Karl-Anthony Towns
F. Jayson Tatum

Here is who the coaches should vote for to All-Star Game reserves and head to San Francisco for the game on Feb. 16.

Western Conference All-Star Reserves

G. Anthony Edwards
G. Kyrie Irving
F. Domantas Sabonis
F. Anthony Davis
F. Victor Wembanyama
WC. Jalen Williams
WC. Jaren Jackson Jr.

SNUBS: Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Devin Booker (Suns), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), James Harden (Clippers), Ivica Zubac (Clippers), De’Aaron Fox (Kings),

Choosing the West reserves is brutal and impossible — deserving players will miss out. As a prime example, with these choices, I snubbed the Houston Rockets by not giving them any All-Stars, the team sitting second in the conference. If one does get in, it should be center Alperen Sengun.

Luka Doncic is unquestioably an All-Star level talent, but he’s missed more than half his team’s games so far this season (and that number grows as he is out with a strained calf, there is hope he returns before the All-Star Game). The same goes for Ja Morant, who just missed too many games despite being an All-Star talent.

There are a few givens on this list: Wembanyama, Davis, Anthony Edwards, and Jalen Williams are unquestionably All-Stars (Edwards’ game didn’t take the leap forward we all hoped this season, but he’s still an All-Star level player).

Jaren Jackson Jr. is the leading scorer and best defender (in consideration for the DPOY ballot) on the No. 3 team in the West and he has to be in. Kyrie Irving makes the cut for me as a guard over Morant or De’Aaron Fox, but Fox’s teammate Domantas Sabonis should get a spot on the roster as a big, he is consistently impressive every night.

Maxey is tough to leave out, but his team has dragged him down, unfortunately. If the coaches put him in, I can’t blame them. Still, it’s hard for me to pick him over Garland — who could have gotten a starter’s vote over his teammate Mitchell — Young, Cunningham or Lillard. If anyone gets bumped from that group, it should be Lillard, but he’s deserving.

Mobley and Brown are givens (I had voted Mobley a starter over Towns, I’m that high on him), and Adebayo continues to impress, doing everything for the Heat inside. That makes up the frontcourt. Paolo Banchero would have made it but just missed too much time in the first half of this season.

While we — fans, media, and coaches — are picking these teams East vs. West, that’s not how they will play in San Francisco — the NBA has shaken up the All-Star format in an attempt to inject energy and competition into the event.

The 12 All-Stars starters and reserves in each conference (24 players in total) will be divided into three teams of eight players each, with those teams drafted by the former players on TNT’s Inside the NBA: Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith. Those three teams, plus the winning team from Friday night’s Rising Star Challenge (a game of rookies and second-year-players), will enter into a four-team knockout-style tournament with games to 40.

We’ll see what that looks like next month. However, the selection of All-Star players remains the same.

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Tags: NBA