We have reached the halfway point of the season, which means that the NBA All-Star game is right around the corner. While it is not in February as usual due to the adjusted schedule, it is still a very exciting event regardless of the circumstances and the limited festivities. Every year, the NBA holds a rising stars game for rookie and sophomore players as well as a celebrity game on Friday night, followed by All-Star Saturday night, which consists of the skills competition, three-point contest and the fan favorite dunk contest. Finally, Sunday night is usually the main event — which is of course, the actual All-Star game, where the leagues’ best face off in a game drafted by two captains. The star filled game always consists of many highlights and not much defense.

 However, this year, the Friday night events have been canceled and Saturday’s events have been moved to Sunday.  The skills challenge and three-point contest will occur before the game and the dunk contest will occur at halftime. Regardless, this break gives the players around the league some time off and provides the fans with one of the best nights of the year.

There has always been a lot of controversy when it comes to selecting the All-Star games. This is because starters are solely voted in by the fan vote and reserves are selected by a mix of fan voting, coaches, and members of the media. There are many different factors that go into what makes someone an All-Star, which includes their individual stats, performances and their team success. This year was no different, as there were some very surprising names and also those that everyone expected to see, such as captains Lebron James and Kevin Durant. 

 I decided that I would weigh in and give my thoughts on who deserved to make it and who did not. I based my opinions on the original rosters before people were replaced, because those were the teams that were actually selected.

Starting with the Eastern Conference, the starters are Nets forward Kevin Durant, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, 76ers big man Joel Embiid, Nets guard Kyrie Irving, and Wizards guard Bradley Beal. I agree with all of these selections as starters except for one, and that is Kyrie Irving. Irving has had a tremendous season, helping the Brooklyn Nets become the No. 2 seed in the East while averaging 27 points and six assists. However, I think his teammate, James Harden, deserved the nod as a starter by a small margin. Harden started the season with Houston, but was traded early on after requesting out. Since the trade, Harden has been spectacular, averaging 25 points and 11 assists in 21 games with Brookyln. It is a close call, but I give the edge to the beard. 

As for the rest of the starters, their seasons speak for themselves. Durant has bounced back from injury on an elite level and has been key to the Nets’ success. Giannis has continued his rein of terror on the league, not taking a step back with his usual dominant numbers (29-12-6). Embiid is the front runner for MVP, averaging 30 points per game with 11 boards while leading Philly to the No.1 seed in the East, making his selection clear. Finally, Beal is leading the league in scoring with a ridiculous 33 points a night, making his case pretty obvious as well. 

Continuing in the East, the reserves were very interesting, consisting of Celtics duo Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Zach Lavine (Bulls), Julius Randle (Knicks), Ben Simmons (76ers), Nikola Vucevic (Magic) and James Harden (Nets). Overall, I feel like they did a good job here and giving the nod to Vucevic and Randle was definitely the right call. 

However, I feel as though the Celtics do not deserve to have two players representing them, due to the fact that they have significantly underperformed. Team success has proven crucial in the selection, as we saw Bradley Beal miss the cut last year — averaging 30 points per game just because his team had a poor record. I believe that the selection should be consistent year in and year out. For that reason, I think that Domantas Sabonis should have replaced Jayson Tatum because he has been more consistent all year and at the time of voting, the Pacers were the better team.

 It was between removing Brown and Tatum for me, and their stats were very similar so it was a tough call. What did it for me was Brown’s much more efficient shooting and better on ball defense, as Brown is shooting a very impressive 50% from the field and has made the leap to stardom. Sabonis has averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on the season while having to take on a bigger role with all of the injuries plaguing Indiana, including wings TJ Warren and Caris Levert missing significant time. He has assumed a large playmaking role along with the lead scoring role, and for that reason, I would have Sabonis on the team. (Sabonis did make the team later on, replacing Kevin Durant because he is injured for the game.)

The remainder of the reserves earned their spots in a variety of ways. Randle and Lavine are both first time all stars who made huge leaps for their teams and are keeping their teams in the playoff hunt. Randle even has led the Knicks to their best start since 2012-13, when they had superstar Carmelo Anthony. 

Simmons was debatable, but his playmaking and elite defense while helping the Sixers to the best record in the East secures his spot for me. He is a top two candidate for defensive player of the year, competing mainly with Rudy Gobert. For a guard to be in that conversation is very rare, as no guard has won since Gary Payton in 1995-96. He leads the league in deflections while putting up 16-8-8 a night, making him a threat in all aspects and more than a viable option for a reserve.

 Finally, Nikola Vucevic earned his spot with his extremely impressive play night-in and night-out, averaging 24 points and 11 boards for a Magic team he kept afloat after it had been severely hurt by injuried. Harden’s reasons were mentioned in his debate to be a starter. Some honorable mentions in the East would be Heat duo Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, Sixers forward Tobias Harris, and Bucks forward Khris Middleton.

Now onto the West, where the starters consist of captain Lakers forward Lebron James, Warriors guard Steph Curry, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonar . I believe that the only blunder here was the selection of Luka Doncic over Trailblazer guard Damian Lillard. 

While Luka is having an unreal statistical season of 28.5 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and nine assists per game, Dame is putting together a near MVP campaign with 30 points a night along with eight assists. Luka’s numbers do look slightly better, however, Dame’s impact on the game and success with adversity gives him the advantage.

 The Trailblazers looked sharp ealy in the season, led by Dame and his backcourt member CJ McCollum, with big man Jusuf Nurkic in the mix as well. However, CJ and Nurkic both went down with severe injuries, being sidelined for months through the break and leaving Dame to carry the team. He has succeeded, as they are the No.6 seed compared to Luka and Dallas’ No. 9 seed, which to me gives Dame the edge for starter.

Similar to the East, the rest of the starters speak for themselves. Lebron James has proved that he is still one of the best in the league at age 36, averaging 25-8-8 while leading LA to the No. 2 seed. 

Curry is coming back from injury, but you wouldn’t be able to tell he missed any time based on his play. He is averaging 25-5-6 while keeping the Warriors in the hunt, and as a fan favorite Steph was clearly making the cut. 

Kawhi Leonard continues to be dominant every season, with this one being no different as he continues to tear up the league in his quiet ways while boosting the Clippers to the No. 3 seed.

Finally, Serbian big Nikola Jokic of Denver continues to do things on the court we have never seen from a 7-footer, with averages of 27-11-8.5, he is like a magician and makes plays that continue to amaze everyone. 

Moving to the bench, the reserves consisted of Chris Paul (Suns), Paul George (Clipper

s), Zion Williamson (Pelicans), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Rudy Gobert (Jazz), Donovan Mitchell (Jazz), and Damian Lillard (Trailblazers). I believe that they did a perfect job on the bench, aside from the fact that Devin Booker was not included.

There were many other players in the mix such as Mike Conley (Jazz) and Demar Derozan (Spurs), but the teams this year were just too talented to fit everyone deserving of a spot. This final spot for me was a toss-up, but I decided to give the spot to Devin Booker over teammate Chris Paul. They both are having fantastic seasons, with Paul providing 16 points and nine assists a night along with his leadership. Booker on the other hand is averaging 25.5 points a game and four assists with very efficient shooting.

This really could go either way, but Booker’s ability to do what he does with the ball in his hands less is what set him apart for me. Paul is No. 8 in the entire league in time of possession per game, meaning he has the ball in his hands a ton. This gives him more opportunities to increase stats and make his case. On the contrary, Booker is able to put up his ridiculous numbers insanely efficiently, as he is fifth in the league in points per touch, behind four All-Stars (Zion Williamson, Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal). Finally, this was Booker’s team from the start and he has continued to blossom every year. Chris Paul has been extremely impressive, it was Booker’s play that attracted Paul to Phoenix and I believe he is more important to the team’s success. For those reasons, D Book gets my final spot. (Booker also ended up making the team, replacing Anthony Davis.)

The rest of the Western reserves all earned their spots in one of the toughest conferences in recent history to be selected. Paul George struggled significantly last year in the playoffs, but has had a strong bounce-back year for the Clippers. He has shot the ball extremely well (50% from the field, 46% from three) and is averaging 23 a game while being a huge factor in the Clippers being the No. 3 seed in the tough Western conference.

Zion Williamson came into the season with high expectations after being the No.1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft and still managed to shatter them, averaging 25.5 points and seven rebounds. What is most impressive is Zion`s efficiency, shooting a ridiculous 61.5% from the field. 

Anthony Davis is hurt and will miss the game, and while his season may not have been up to his standards, he still helped the Lakers to the No.2 seed in the West, averaging 22.5 points and 8.5 assists, while continuing to provide some of the best defense in the league. Regardless of his evaluation of his own play and his tough criticism of himself, he earned the spot.

The Jazz duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have certainly made their case clear, absolutely dominating this season. They have led Utah to the No.1 seed in the entire NBA thus far. Mitchell leads the team in scoring with 25 points a game, and Gobert has once again been a top defender in the league, looking to pick up his third defensive player of the year award. He also is averaging a double-double of 14 points and 13.5 boards with a ridiculous 2.7 blocks per game. 

I mentioned Damian Lillard’s clear reasoning to be an All-Star in his debate to be a starter.

I believe that this year was one of the toughest years to pick the teams due to all the talent and deserving players, so overall I feel like the NBA did a great job. Regardless of the small mistakes, the game is set to be filled with all the top talent available. Hopefully, it be very exciting and provide a fun and enjoyable event for fans everywhere who have been looking forward to it.