Thursday, the NBA announced the starters for the 2023 All-Star Game. LeBron James tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star selections with 19. This is the 18th time that the forward for the Los Angeles Lakers has been named a starter.
There are the likely All-Star starters like James, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 2023 NBA All-Star Game starters are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, and the 19th pick, Nikola Jokic.
But, as always, there are players who have done well so far this season but weren’t picked to start in the All-Star game. There is still a chance of making the team as a backup player, but being a starter is more prestigious.
In the East, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Joel Embiid are all good enough to start. But it was just a game of numbers. Only three could be chosen to start in the frontcourt. It’s not like someone who didn’t deserve to get there did. Embiid was just the one who didn’t make the team.
In the last five years, the centre for the Philadelphia 76ers has been an All-Star. This season, he is the second best scorer in the league and averages 33.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Kyrie Irving is a fan favourite and started at guard, but Jaylen Brown of Boston is having a better season. The Nets star averages 26.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while he averages 26.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
It would have been better to do that.
In the West, Memphis’s Ja Morant could have started in the backcourt with Luka Doncic, but it’s fine that Curry got the nod. Morant is giving out an average of eight assists and 27.3 points per game.
In the frontcourt, you could say that Zion Williamson has only played 29 games and that Domantas Sabonis from Sacramento should have been one of the starters.
This season, Sabonis has started 45 games, and with 12.4 rebounds per game, he is the best in the league.
Lauri Markkanen should have been one of the starters for the same reason. The 25-year-old has never been picked for an All-Star game, but so far this season he has started 46 games and is averaging 24.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
