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.
Picking the Eastern Conference All-Star Roster
Each Conference will send 12 players to the All-Star Game; that number is insanely low given the expansion of the league in both teams and players since the early days of the league, but it’s the rule for now. There are plenty of candidates, and a lot of really good teams in the East, but here are the 11 remaining players to make the cut.
Eastern Conference Starters
Tyrese Haliburton, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid
Tyrese Haliburton is leading the league in assists (James Harden will take that title when he hits the games played threshold) and showing an efficient scoring game for a team no one expected to be good. With Haliburton in the lineup, the Pacers were the sixth seed; they are winless since he has been out of the lineup injured.
The East frontcourt is the most difficult group to pick among all of the All-Stars, as there are four MVP candidates and only three slots. Kevin Durant was unconscious before he got hurt, not only scoring the basketball at an elite level but defending and rebounding as well. Jayson Tatum has taken yet another step forward as an offensive hub for the league’s best team.
Joel Embiid gets the final spot over Giannis Antetokounmpo, but any order for these players is defensible. Embiid has been mostly healthy since an early-season absence and has been a two-way force for the Philadelphia 76ers. EPM rates him as the second-most impactful player in the league behind only Nikola Jokic.
Reserve Frontcourt
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle
Giannis is the easy pick here, taking on a huge load in the absence of Khris Middleton for most of the season. Jimmy Butler is even more of an analytics darling for his elite per-minute impact on both the offense and defense of the Miami Heat. Finally, Julius Randle is having the best season of his career, with an improved 3-pointer and a lot of work on the boards.
Reserve Backcourt
Jrue Holiday, James Harden
Somehow Jrue Holiday has not been an All-Star since his days on the Philadelphia 76ers, and that will hopefully change this season. One of the league’s best defensive guard, he has had some massive offensive performances in the past few weeks covering for injured stars. James Harden is no one’s pick for an elimination playoff game, but he has stepped back into the role of running an offense and is still one of the league’s best passers.
Wild Cards
Bam Adebayo, Jaylen Brown
There are a lot of players worthy of an All-Star selection, so it’s a hard cut to end it at 12 players. Bam Adebayo has improved offensively and is still an anchor on defense, and the Miami Heat have righted the ship after a shaky start. Jaylen Brown is slightly overrated given the success of the team around him, but he is still a deserving All-Star having a career scoring year. Kyrie Irving is the first cut, a player having a sublime offensive season but who also missed weeks of games due to his own actions.
Missed the Cut (in no particular order): Pascal Siakam, DeMar DeRozan, Kyrie Irving, Kristaps Porzingis, Jarrett Allen, Trae Young, Darius Garland, Jalen Brunson
Picking the Western Conference All-Star Roster
Another 12 players will get chosen from the Western Conference, and while the list is easier to pare down than in the East, it’s still unfair that we aren’t picking 15 players. That seems like a minimum expansion that should take place.
Western Conference Starters
Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic
There are three guards who demand to be placed among the starters, and since Luka Doncic is 6’7″ and primarily defends forwards he gets moved into a frontcourt spot. He and Jokic are having ballistic offensive seasons, with the difference being that the Denver Nuggets are leading the West and the Dallas Mavericks are crashing into the Play-In Tournament.
Stephen Curry missed a number of games but is back healthy, and his shooting splits are once again something special. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken another step and is killing opponents, and his Oklahoma City Thunder are making other West teams sweat their assumed playoff berth. Finally, LeBron James is having the kind of year most 18-year-old only dream of, and James is doing it at 38.
Frontcourt Reserves
Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis, Zion Williamson
Domantas Sabonis is a lock here, running the offense and controlling the glass for a Sacramento Kings team in third place in the Western Conference. The other two are trickier selections; when healthy, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson have been top-15 players at worst. Yet both have played a paltry number of games and are currently injured; at some point the games / minutes played has to matter. They get in for now, but both are likely to be replaced in the game itself by healthier stars.
Backcourt Reserves
Ja Morant, Damian Lillard
Fitting three guards onto the starting lineup still did Ja Morant dirty, as the explosive young guard is leading the Memphis Grizzlies to an excellent record and innumerable highlight reels. Damian Lillard has continued to improve as the season has gone on and, while the Trail Blazers are not winning every game, Lillard’s explosive scoring bursts can completely overwhelm opponents.
Wild Cards
Lauri Markkanen, Devin Booker
Devin Booker falls into a similar camp as Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson, currently injured without a clear return date reported on. He is a candidate to be replaced in the actual game due to his injury. Lauri Markkanen, on the other hand, is no throw-in; the Finnish forward is having a career-best shooting season and propelling the Utah Jazz into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.
Given that as many as three All-Stars could miss the game, it’s pertinent to point to those who “just missed” the cut. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Anthony Edwards are the next two up, with Aaron Gordon and Draymond Green next after that.
Missed the Cut: De’Aaron Fox, Aaron Gordon, Jaren Jackson Jr., Draymond Green, Anthony Edwards