The fans, media and players had their say in choosing the starters for the Feb. 17 All-Star Game.
Now the NBA’s coaches have spoken, with their selections for the 14 reserves that will fill out the rosters representing the Eastern and Western Conferences in the league’s 68th showcase game.
Anthony Davis (New Orleans), LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio), Nikola Jokic (Denver), Damian Lillard (Portland), Klay Thompson (Golden State), Karl-Anthony Towns and Russell Westbrook are comprise the Western Conference list of reserves.
Bradley Beal (Washington), Blake Griffin (Detroit), Kyle Lowry (Toronto), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee), Victor Oladipo (Indiana), Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) and Nikola Vucevic (Orlando) are the Eastern Conference reserves.
A replacement will be named at a later date for Oladipo, who is out for the remainder of this season after surgery Monday to repair the ruptured quad tendon in his right knee.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was the top vote-getter for the Western Conference starters, a group that also includes Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s James Harden, Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City’s Paul George.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, the top vote-getter from the Eastern Conference, headlines a first five that includes Boston’s Kyrie Irving, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
As captains, James and Antetokounmpo will draft their teams for the All-Star Game, choosing from a player pool that includes the other eight starters and 14 reserves, regardless of conference designation.
The player draft will be live on TNT Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. ET.
The 2019 #NBAAllStar Reserves!#LaMarcusAldridge#BradleyBeal#AnthonyDavis#BlakeGriffin#NikolaJokic#DamianLillard#KyleLowry#KhrisMiddleton#DirkNowitzki#VictorOladipo#DAngeloRussell#BenSimmons#KarlTowns#KlayThompson#NikolaVucevic#DwyaneWade#RussellWestbrook pic.twitter.com/VgaheYwbLC
— #NBAAllStar 2021 (@NBAAllStar) February 2, 2019
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Sekou Smith is a veteran NBA reporter and NBA TV analyst. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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