All Star Voting Is Officially Open So That Means It's Time To Argue On The Internet
NBA All Star voting officially opened on Christmas, which means we have our latest topic to yell at one another on the internet about. As is tradition, anyone's All Star selections that differ from yours is an idiot, doesn't know basketball, and hasn't watched a second of this season. It's sort of like when we get to the All NBA teams/league awards, everyone thinks their lists are the correct list and anything else is clearly false. The thing is, when you look over the body of work so far this season, things aren't that cut and dry. You start to go through guys who are trying to snag a reserve spot and it's really tight, especially in the Eastern Conference.
Before we dive in to what my personal selections would be, here's a quick reminder of the rules.
Fans will be able to vote for NBA All-Star Game starters through Google.com, the Google App and Google Assistant. This season’s program will also feature an enhanced voting experience via the NBA App and NBA.com.
Throughout the voting period, fans may submit one full ballot each day via the NBA App and NBA.com, as well as on Google and through Google Assistant. All current NBA players will be available for selection. Five “2-for-1 Days” will allow fans to have their votes count twice on Jan. 2, Jan. 3, Jan. 10, Jan. 16 and Jan. 20 through all voting platforms. All “2-for-1 Days” will be designated 12 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET.
NBA players and media will join fans in selecting the NBA All-Star Game starters. Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each. Players and media will also be able to complete one ballot, featuring three frontcourt players and two guards from both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.
Fan voting updates will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 2, Thursday, Jan. 9 and Thursday, Jan. 16.
TNT will reveal the NBA All-Star Game starters, including the two team captains, on Thursday, Jan. 23 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader. The network will also announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Thursday, Jan. 30 during TNT NBA Tip-Off.
The NBA All-Star Game team rosters will be drafted by the two captains. They will choose from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference, making their selections regardless of conference affiliation. The captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference. Details about the NBA All-Star Draft will be announced at a later date.
Got it? OK good. Let's start with the East because I feel like that's where a lot more debate lives.
The one thing we know, is the "East starters" are a lock. As far as I am concerned, this really isn't even up for discussion. You can cross these five off the list immediately
Kemba Walker
Bradley Beal
Giannis
Pascal Siakam
Joel Embiid
There are your two guards and three frontcourt players. The real debate comes with the remaining 7 reserve spots. After thinking long and hard about it, here is where I net out
Bam Adebayo (15.6/10.5/4.6 on 56% shooting)
This one also sort of feels like a no brainer if you've watched 10 seconds of Heat basketball to start the season. He's probably the leader in the clubhouse for the MIP award, he might be the best passing big in the entire conference, and he's having a career year on a team that as of right now is the 2 seed.
Domantas Sabonis (17.4/13.4/3.9 on 50% shooting)
Guess how many players are currently putting up 17/13/4? One. His name is Domantas Sabonis. I'm not just talking about the East either, I'm talking the entire NBA. Call me crazy but that probably deserves an All Star reserve nod. Add to it the Pacers have been much better than we all thought as they wait for Oladipo to come back, Sabonis has been a huge reason why.
Zach LaVine (23.5/4.6/3.8 on 43/39% with 3.1 3PM)
OK, hear me out on this. Last season, while the Bulls were still terrible, LaVine just missed out on finding his way into the All Star reserve roster. Remember though, he was 8th in East backcourt voting last year, and guys like Kemba/Kyrie/Beal/Wade/Oladipo/Lowry/Russell are all no longer options for this season. Of those 8, outside of Oladipo who got hurt they all made it. Yes the Bulls are once again kind of shitty, but LaVine is having basically the same year as last season when he just missed it, so I think he gets the nod this season.
Jaylen Brown (20.6/7.0/2.4 on 51/40% with 2.1 3PM)
I think we can all agree that the Celtics are most likely sending two players to the All Star game. Notice I didn't say three. Credit to me for not being a gigantic homer. If it were up to me, if I had to choose between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum right this second, you have to go Jaylen. It's OK to say he's having the better season....because he is. Career high's basically across the board, he's been efficient, consistent on both ends, and is showing such a level of improvement in basically all his weaknesses I think it's only right that he is rewarded with this selection. That's not to say Tatum hasn't been great, he'll probably get the nod because he's the more popular name, but if we are being honest about it Jaylen has been the more deserving player.
Trae Young (28.5/4.3/8.3 on 44/36% with 3.4 3PM)
Look the Hawks might be the worst team ever assembled, but we can't have a world where a guy averages nearly 30/8 and isn't in the All Star game. Is this a case of good numbers on a bad team? Most likely, but Trae Young is so exciting he's going to be part of this event. Like if you had to choose between seeing Young or someone like Spencer Dinwiddie, you are going with Trae Young. This is basically some James Harden level scoring so yeah he's making it for me.
Jimmy Butler (20.5/6.6/6.7 on 42/27%)
So with Butler it's weird because he's a starter quality player, but they consider him a wing so there's no way he's starting over any of those three front court options. You may think of Butler as a SG, but he's played 71% of the at SF for the Heat this year after spending 80% of the time as a SF for the Sixers last year. During his CHI days he was more of a SG, but he's been a SF for some time now so the wing thing makes sense. He's putting up those numbers taking just 13.9 FGA a night, he has the Heat in a great spot and he's one of the best two way players in the entire league. Easy choice.
Malcolm Brogdon (18.3/4.5/7.6 on 45/33% with 1.4 3PM)
In most cases, this will probably be Ben Simmons. He's going to clean up the fan vote and I get it, he's a big time name. But Brogdon has had the better season so far in my opinion. They have basically the same offensive win share number, the same value over replacement number, and while Simmons is the better defender there's no arguing that, Brogdon has been more of an all around player. He can actually do things offensively, his team has been better so far this season, he has a better AST% and listen as good as Simmons has been, this has been a little bit of a step back from what we saw last year.
Again, Simmons is going to get the spot, but I think Brogdon is more deserving.
That's my East. Again credit to me for not being a gigantic homer and having 3 Celtics in there despite them being one of the best teams in the league up until this point. Sixers fans will cry because they are insecure about their underachieving Process and only having 1 selection, but I think my reasoning for each makes sense.
OK now the West.
Same thing here, the starters are pretty much a lock with
Luka
James Harden
Kawhi Leonard
LeBron James
Anthony Davis
Don't really care about Kawhi's rest, he's a starter. Period. Now unlike the East, I also feel like the West reserves are pretty cut and dry. There aren't really too many cases where guys will be pissed if they get snubbed because I feel like there are really only 7 deserving guys.
Karl-Anthony Towns (26.5/11.7/4.4 on 51/41% with 3.6 3PM)
Uh yeah, I'd say those averages are good enough. The fact that we are at New Years and KAT is shooting 41% from three with almost 4 3PM a night is pretty ridiculous. He's just 24 too so that's a little terrifying. Considered one of the best big men in the league, KAT is making his 3rd straight All Star game. No brainer.
Brandon Ingram (25.3/7.0/3.9 on 49/40% with 2.3 3PM)
Ingram has had the perfect season for a guy entering this summer looking for a max deal. Yes, he's putting up great numbers on a bad team but so what. You can't argue that production from the outside shooting to the improved passing. He's improved every season he's been in the league, and the most impressive part is he's seen his FGA jump to 18 a game yet his efficiency hasn't suffered. To me, that's how you can tell this leap is real and deserves an All Star nod.
Devin Booker 924.7/3.9/6.4 on 50/36% with 1.9 3PM)
I couldn't find a way to get Aron Baynes in here, but Booker is the next best thing. He has a chance at 50/40/90, the Suns are somewhat frisky this season, and I think he's a logical choice for one of these reserve guard spots. It'll be the first of his career and I think when you make jumps in both FG and 3P% like Booker has, that should be enough.
Damian Lillard (27.0/4.1/7.6 on 44/35% with 3.4 3PM)
Yeah, the Blazers have been big time underachievers this season. Record stinks. But there's no denying Dame is what, a top 5 PG? Maybe that's even low? This won't be like when he averaged 27 a game and got snubbed like in 2016-17, he has better numbers than last year and should make his 3rd straight All Star game.
Nikola Jokic (18.0/10.0/6.8 on 49/31% with 1.3 3PM)
Remember when Jokic kind of sucked? Even that was 18/10/7 which just goes to show how ridiculous this dude is. You could make the case he's the best center in the league at just 24 years old, and seeing as how the Nuggets are the 2nd seed in the West they deserve to have an All Star and Jokic makes the most sense. Not only that, but Jokic has even played 32 games so far despite being 500 pounds and clearly not even close to being in shape. That alone is impressive enough to warrant his spot.
Paul George (23.7/5.5/6.0 on 43/39% with 3.7 3PM)
He's only played in 23 games, but if you are someone that feels like maybe Simmons should be selected (23 games) you have to say the same about PG13. One of the better two way players in the league, no chance he doesn't play in his 5th straight All Star game. The numbers are good enough, the team is good enough, and their record is even better when everyone plays.
Donovan Mitchell (25.3/4.6/4.3 on 45/35% with 2.2 3PM)
This one feels a little weird because the Jazz haven't been all that good, but it's hard for me to think of a guard who I would rather put in this spot. He's another guy that will clean up with the fan vote, and it's not like his averages stink or anything like that. Here are the names of players averaging at least what Mitchell is averaging: Harden, Giannis, Luka, Kyrie, Trae Young, Bradley Beal, Dame, KAT, Kawhi, LeBron.
Seems All Star worthy no?
So that's where I am when it comes to All Star voting. A quick recap
East: Kemba/Beal/Giannis/Siakam/Embiid/Bam/Jaylen/Butler/Sabonis/Young/Brogdon/LaVine
West: Luka/Harden/Kawhi/LeBron/AD/KAT/Ingram/Booker/Dame/Jokic/Mitchell/George
I now look forward to you telling me how stupid I am and how terrible this list is. Don't be a coward and list your own rosters and let's have ourselves a good old fashioned internet argument.