On Thursday night, the NBA announced who will be representing each conference in the starting lineup for the 2021 All-Star game. It is a who’s who list of players, as there are stars aplenty for each side.
In the Western Conference, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokic will be starting. The representatives for the Eastern Conference are Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant will be the captains selecting the teams for the game this year. They will alternate picks for the starters and then the reserve of pool players. Those players will be announced on February 23rd.
RELATED: NBA announces starters for East & West 2021 All-Star teams
There are plenty of great players left that will await their names to be called that night. Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Julius Randle, Donovan Mitchell and Domantas Sabonis are a few of the players who could hear their name announced. If Charles Barkley had his way, Jordan Clarkson would hear his name announced.
During Inside the NBA on TNT on Thursday evening, Barkley said that Jordan Clarkson should be an All-Star over Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis.
While this is a shocking remark to hear, it is not as farfetched as many would think. It is highly unlikely that Clarkson would be named to the All-Star game over Davis, but he deserves some recognition for the season that he is having.
Clarkson is the super sixth man for the Utah Jazz, who currently have the best record in the NBA. He is averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game and doing it efficiently. He is making 45.3 percent of his shots overall, 38.2 percent from the 3-point line and 95.8 percent from the charity stripe. Also, he is averaging 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals. Compiling those stats in only 26.2 minutes per game is an impressive feat.
RELATED: Sports medical analyst says Lakers’ Anthony Davis could miss months
While people will dismiss Barkley right off the bat, as he has made some outlandish comments before, this one isn’t as outrageous. Davis is currently sidelined from for at least 2-3 weeks with a calf injury, so he is unlikely to participate in the game anyway. His focus will be on recovering for the Lakers’ playoff push.
If Anthony Davis wasn’t selected by the coaches and his peers to be in the game, Clarkson has a strong case to be someone that could take his place with how effective he’s been for the Utah Jazz.
