The NBA on Tuesday released the reserve list for the March 7 All-Star Game in Atlanta, first made up by young Zion Williamson and with the criticized absence of Devin Booker.
The 14 players announced on Tuesday, adding to the 10 starters already known last week, have been selected by NBA coaches and include four All-Star newbies: Williamson, Jaylen Brown, Julius Randle and Zach Lavine.
For the Eastern Conference, the chosen guards were James Harden (Brooklyn Nets) and Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers), guard Zach Lavine (Chicago Bulls), forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (both Boston Celtics), forward Julius Randle (New York Knicks) and center Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic).
These players join the five Eastern starters: Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) and Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets).
In the West, the announced reserves are leaders Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) and Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns), guard Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), forward Paul George (LA Clippers), forward Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) and centers Anthony Davis (LA Lakers) and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz).
The five starters coming from the West are LeBron James (LA Lakers), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks).
For the fourth consecutive edition, the All-Star teams will not be constituted by conferences, but the two players with the most fan votes, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, will be the team captains and the players will be divided.
Zion Williamson, No. 1 in the 2019 Draft, will play the first All-Star of his career at 20 after averaging 25.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists this season.
Certain absences in the charts have aroused strong criticism, like Mike Conley (Utah Jazz) and especially Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns).
“Devin Booker is the least respected player in our league !!! It’s that easy, ”LeBron James tweeted.
Booker, who was an All-Star last season, is averaging 24.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists this season, in which he led the Suns to fourth place in the the west.
Although LeBron and other personalities in the NBA have objected to its celebration, the NBA will celebrate the All-Star on March 7 in Atlanta by concentrating events in a single day and without the presence of the public.
–
