The NBA has put its foot down (along with the players’ association) and the All-Star game is headed to Atlanta! The decision to follow through with the All-Star game is very obvious, there is no need to address the obvious financial ramifications of missing one of the NBA’s biggest weekends of the year.

The starters for each conference have been set. From the Eastern Conference, we have Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounpo, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, and Bradley Beal. The Western Conference will have LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic. Now, the question is, who can be the reserves for each conference.

Western Conference

Anthony Davis, LA Lakers** (22.5ppg, 8.4rpg, 3.0apg, 1.8bpg) – There’s not much to say about Anthony Davis. He’s nursing a calf/Achilles injury and will be out for the next few weeks. That being said, AD is a top 5-7 player in the league, one of the best defensive big men, reigning champ, and LeBron’s co-star in LA.

Paul George, LA Clippers (24.4ppg, 6.2rpg, 5.5apg, 51% FG, 47% 3P) – Yes, Paul George is shooting 47% from beyond the arc, on 7.7 attempts per game. It’s one thing for a player to stand in the corner and hit close to 50% from the corner 3, but Paul George is the second best player on the Clippers, handles the ball for the offense for a significant portion of the game, and shoots off the dribble. He said he wants to return to his MVP form, despite not ever being a MVP, and shooting like this will only help his cause.

Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (13.9ppg, 13.5rpg, 2.8bpg, 64% FG) – Gobert got a lot of flack for his reckless attitude in March 2020 when the Coronavirus was starting to serge across North America. That doesn’t change the fact that he is the Jazz best player, defensive anchor, and allows for the team to have the newly instituted spread offense. We’ll touch on the guard play for this team later on, but for now, let’s just recognize Gobert for his great work this year.

Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers (29.8ppg, 7.9apg, 4.3rpg, 4.1 3PM, 44.7%FG) – Dame leads the league in basically every offensive clutch stat this year. He’s turned the logo 3 into a regular shot, and continues to bail out this roster from close games. Although McCollum actually had a better start to the year than Lillard, he’s stepped up since Nurkic and McCollum got injured. He’s making up for offensive deficiencies on this team, and is keeping them well in the playoff seeding.

Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz (24.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.2 apg) – Mitchell has been compared to Dwyane Wade since a young age, and then really made his name known during the Bubble playoffs. This year, he’s firing on all cylinders with this team, averaging a career high 5.2 assists and 24.2 points per game. Mitchell is the focal point of the offense, the clear leader of the team, and draws the best defender from the other team every night. He’s not forcing as many bad shots as in the past, and continues to put the team on his back in clutch moments leading them to the best record in the league.

Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns (16.6ppg, 8.5apg, 4.5rpg, 1.2apg, 48.5FG%) – The Point God has made his way to the Suns, and spent the offseason training with Devin Booker, guess he was excited to leave OKC. Paul has done everything we expect from him, provide leadership and toughness, a strong IQ for the younger players to play off of, and is still a mid-range killer. Paul is doing the exact same things we expect out of him whenever he joins a new team, gets everyone to listen and up their game.

DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs (19.8ppg, 6.9apg, 5.0rpg, 48.8FG%) – DeMar DeRozan is averaging almost 2 3-point attempts per game, the highest numbers we’ve seen since he left Toronto. His 19.8ppg is the lowest it’s been since the 2012-2013 season, but that doesn’t recognize his completely different role for the team. The Spurs are sitting 5 games above .500 and its largely due to DeRozan’s transition to point forward on this team. He’s slowly turned into the team’s main power forward, while also handling the ball and leading the team in assists, allowing young players like DeJounte Murray and Keldon Johnson to get their shots up.

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans** (25.1ppg, 6.8rpg, 61.6 FG%) – Williamson is an absolute monster inside. He gets to the rim at ease, is somehow able to avoid players when he needs to, and when he cannot dodge them, he bodies the defender and finishes over them. Williamson still has not learned how to play NBA defense, and his rebounding needs a lot of improvement, but his pizazz and flare make him a great Anthony Davis substitution. Also, Adam Silver has made it a point to pick the next man up in fan voting to replace injured players, so we’ll definitely be seeing Williamson in Atlanta.

Honourable mentions: Mike Conley, Devin Booker, De’Aaron Fox, Ja Morant

**Anthony Davis will be injured during the time of the All-Star game. I’ve chosen Zion Williamson as his replacement

Eastern Conference

Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers (21.5ppg, 11.6rpg, 5.7apg, 1.0apg) – Sabonis is averaging the highest points and assists per game of his young career, and is often looked at as one of the best real big men in the league. He can go down low to get you a bucket, he’s a great passer, and shoots a respectable 36% from beyond the arc.

Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (26ppg, 7.1rpg, 4.6apg, 1.3spg) – Tatum’s stats are amazing, and it makes total sense with the way that Boston plays. The team’s offence runs through Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with occasional appearances from Kemba. Despite having a bout with COVID-19 this year, Tatum is still putting up great numbers and is well deserving of his second all-star selection.

Julius Randle, New York Knicks (23.2ppg, 11rpg, 5.5apg, 48% FG) – Let’s give the Knicks some love! After battling off about 80 power forwards last year, Julius Randle managed to stand apart from everyone else and let the league know that this is his team. Randle is shooting a stellar 41% from beyond the arc, leads the team in points, rebounds, and assists, and has leveled up defensively under coach Thibodeau. All in all, Randle has been great for this Knicks team and they’re still sitting in a playoff position.

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics (25.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 3.9apg, 49.7 FG%) – Jaylen Brown is arguably having a better season than Jayson Tatum for the Celtics. He started the season scorching hot from the field, and has barely slowed down. Defensively, without Marcus Smart around, Brown draws the most difficult perimeter match up and still manages to carry a major offensive load. In terms of performance, Brown should have been starting the game, not coming off the bench.

James Harden, Brooklyn Nets (24.9ppg, 11.1apg, 7.3rpg, 48% FG) – Ignore James Harden’s extracurricular activities to start the year, showing up late to Rockets training camp, and completely giving up on Houston and you’ve got a hell of a year from him again. As soon as he joined the Nets, he fit in perfectly with KD. Once Kyrie came back, it took all of one or two games for the 3 of them to have great chemistry, where Harden became the point guard rather than splitting duties with Irving. He’s not scoring insane amounts, but his assist and rebound numbers are close to career highs.

Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls (28.6ppg, 5.4rpg, 5.1apg, 51.8FG%) – LaVine was often looked at as a good stats on a bad team kind of player. He’s often overlooked because of his inadequacies on defense, and in the past his lack of playmaking. This year, he’s averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists, and is a must watch in the 4th quarter. We talk about Lillard as the best clutch performer in the league, but LaVine might be the best clutch performer in the Eastern conference.

Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers (15.7ppg, 8.3rpg, 7.9apg) – Simmons is regarded as one of the best defenders in the league right now. He stands around 6’9-6’10 and is one of the most versatile defenders in the league, having guarded Dame to having to switch on to big men like Bam Adebayo. Despite shooting just 67% from the line, he’s been attacking the rim at increasing rates as the year goes on.

Honourable Mentions: Bam Adebayo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Fred Van Vleet, Jerami Grant, Gordon Hayward