A week after the 10 players who will start the 2018 NBA All-Star Game were revealed, we now know the 14 players who will round out the rosters selected by captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry in the NBA All Star draft, a new format being adopted by the league this season. NBA coaches made their selections for the seven reserves from each conference and the league revealed them before Tuesday’s TNT double-header, finalizing the list of two dozen stars who will head to Los Angeles next month. Unfortunately, the draft will not be televised, something that will hopefully change in the future.
The Eastern Conference reserves are:
• Kyle Lowry, who’s helped lead the Toronto Raptors to second place in the East and will join teammate DeMar DeRozan for a fourth All-Star appearance, all of which have come since his move to Toronto
• Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks, who has thrived as a No. 1 option in the City that never sleeps by becoming a top scorer and the NBA’s leader in blocks
• Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who has been a really productive offensively on a top-three seed in the East(despite being 8 games over .500)
• Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, who continues to improve each season, and has stayed healthy for seemingly the first time in his career;
• John Wall of the Washington Wizards, who’s struggled with injuries and has had a bit of a down year, but who remains an elite playmaker on a playoff team, and who is definitely not a fan of one JJ Barea
• Al Horford of the first place Boston Celtics, despite a recent slide as a team, and is a vital playmaking partner for All-Star starter Kyrie Irving and captain of the NBA’s best defense;
• Victor Oladipo, who earned his first All-Star nod in recognition of his career year in Indiana, where he has also revived his star status after a bad year in OKC
Notable East snubs:
• Andre Drummond, leading the NBA in rebounds and finally making his free throws for a Detroit Pistons team in the hunt for a playoff spot;
• Ben Simmons, the former No. 1 pick, Rookie of the Year favorite and point forward who has helped revitalize the long-suffering Philadelphia 76ers.
The Western Conference reserves are:
• Jimmy Butler, who’s been the two-way anchor the Minnesota Timberwolves hoped he’d be when they traded for him, leading the Wolves to the West’s third-best record;
• Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook, who’s leading the NBA in assists and nearly averaging another triple-double for the playoff-bound Oklahoma City Thunder;
• LaMarcus Aldridge, who went from requesting a trade to holding down the fort in KawhiLeonard’s absence to keep the San Antonio Spurs afloat in the hunt for home-court advantage;
• Draymond Green, still the sneering heartbeat, do-everything defensive marvel and best playmaker on the NBA-best Golden State Warriors;
• Karl-Anthony Towns, a guaranteed 20-and-10 center who’s taken a step forward on the defensive end that’s helped fuel Minnesota’s rise up the standings;
• Klay Thompson, leading the NBA in 3-point percentage as one of the NBA’s most lethal catch-and-shoot options, as well as one of its top backcourt defenders. Averaging 20+ppg
• Damian Lillard, who sits seventh in the NBA in scoring while averaging a career-high in assists for a Portland Trail Blazers squad that’s in a tough fight for a playoff berth. For once he will not appear on the “snubbed” list
Notable West snubs:
• Paul George, who’s become a supercharged 3-and-D star as a second offensive option in Oklahoma City;
• Chris Paul, who has battled injury but has been tremendous when healthy, teaming with James Harden to lead a Houston Rockets team that looks like the biggest threat to the Warriors’ dominance;
• Lou Williams, one of the great stories of this NBA season, whose instant-offense scoring and career-best facilitating kept the Los Angeles Clippers’ season alive amid a plague of injuries.