Picking the 2022-23 NBA All-Star rosters from top to bottom

Somehow, the NBA season has already raced past the halfway point, and later today the NBA will announce the All-Star Starters for both conferences. Those 10 players, voted on by a combination of fans, media and their fellow players, will be playing in the February All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Soon after that, we will find out who the rest of the 24 All-Stars are, and then the arguments about who should have made it instead will commence. To get out in front, here is a definitive list of who should make the All-Star rosters in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. We’ll start with the East’s lock at guard.

Eastern Conference starting guard: Donovan Mitchell

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of just two teams in the league with three 2022 All-Stars on the roster (Golden State being the other), but only Donovan Mitchell is a lock to make the team this year as the competition has increased in the East. And he isn’t simply a candidate; Mitchell has been the best guard in the Eastern Conference and will absolutely be announced as a starter today.

Mitchell is averaging 28.4 points per game, hitting 39.5 percent of an insanely hard diet of 3-pointers, and has the league’s best game of the season with his 71 points against the Chicago Bulls. Especially with players such as Tyrese Haliburton and James Harden missing extended time this year, Mitchell is clearly an East starter and the Cavs’ one All-Star lock.