Last week, the NBA announced who will be representing each conference in the starting five for the 2021 All-Star game. LeBron James and Kevin Durant received the most votes, so they will be the captains for their respective teams. Now, we know the entire player pool that they will be selecting from.
The rest of the NBA All-Star starters consisted of Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Nikola Jokic making up the Western Conference lineup. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference unit was Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid.
Shams Charania of The Athletic shared the list of All-Star reverses on his Twitter account. While there were some obvious choices, a few surprises also made the cut.
For the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden, New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle, Boston Celtics forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons and Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic were selected.
These are the first NBA All-Star selections for Julius Randle, Jaylen Brown and Zach LaVine. Randle has had a coming-out party with the Knicks this season, leading them to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference thus far and putting together a career-best season.
Zach LaVine has been a part of plenty of NBA trade rumors, and what was already a high asking price probably got higher now that he is an NBA All-Star player. Jaylen Brown has blossomed alongside Jayson Tatum to give the Celtics one of the best young duos in the NBA.
In the Western Conference, Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul, LA Clippers shooting guard Paul George, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, Utah Jazz point guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert, New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson and Los Angeles Lakers power forward Anthony Davis were selected.
This is the first of what will most likely be many NBA All-Star selections for Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Anthony Davis is currently sidelined with a calf injury and will likely be replaced in the All-Star Game.
There won’t be a shortage of players to replace Davis. As with every season, there are always players that fans feel are snubbed from the game. One of those players will assuredly take Davis’ place in the lineup.
