With the Nuggets having won two straight games and Nikola Jokic being the leader in All-Star fan voting in the West, things have been solid in Denver lately. It’s a great time to take stock of the entire league and see how the rest of the All-Star Game roster may look in the conference.
All-Star weekend is February 14-16 this year in the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors. The All-Star Game itself will take place on Sunday night, February 16th. Each conference will be represented by 12 All-Stars; 5 starters voted in by fans (50%), media (25%), and players (25%), and 7 reserves, selected by the coaches.
Voting closes in just over a week and we will know the rosters soon enough. We’ve got big enough sample sizes and large enough bodies of work to start making judgments on players and the seasons they’re having. Without further ado, here are my predictions for the West All-Star team roster.
Predicted Western Conference All-Star Starters
Backcourt - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Backcourt - Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Frontcourt - Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Frontcourt - LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Frontcourt - Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
These five actually seem pretty straightforward. SGA and Jokic are the two favorites for MVP and are leading the fan voting for the West’s front and backcourts. Curry is having a great year and his Warriors are hosting the game; there's no way he’s not starting.
LeBron and KD deserve legacy spots but that’s not even the case here. They are both having great years and have earned these spots on merit. These are the five biggest stars and best players; this starting lineup is a relative no-brainer.
Predicted Western Conference All-Star Reserves
Backcourt - Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Backcourt - James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers
Frontcourt - Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Frontcourt - Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
Frontcourt - Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
Wild Card - Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Wild Card - Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Picking the reserves was a lot tougher than the starters. Ant and Wemby seem like locks based on how well they have each led their teams. Harden is quietly having an awesome year and doing everything for the Clippers offense. He’s been a major reason why that team has done so well.
JJJ and Sengun are both having excellent seasons and have led their teams to the 2 and 3 seeds in the West so far. The Grizzlies and Rockets each deserve an All-Star and these have been their best candidates.
AD has been healthy and playing mostly good two-way basketball. The Lakers have also been better than expected so he gets a wild card spot. The last spot goes to J-Dub of the Thunder. OKC is having too good of a season to not get a second guy and Williams is absolutely deserving. He’s been a two-way menace all year long.
Biggest Snubs
The notable absences are mostly due to injuries. Usual fixtures like Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard are hurt or have missed too much time to warrant a spot. Devin Booker has had a brutal year and the Suns have been bad.
The most worthy players who didn’t make the cut are probably the two Kings’ players; De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Both guys have been solid, and things seem back on track for now in Sacramento, but it was a rough start to the year and it may leave these guys squeezed out as they’ll each likely cannibalize some of their teammate’s votes.