The 2018 NBA All-Star rosters are now officially set.
The 14 reserves — seven from each conference — announced on TNT’s Inside the NBA round out the player pool (with 24 players in all) for LeBron James and Stephen Curry to choose from. As the leading vote-getters in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, LeBron and Steph are captains and will choose the remainder of their squad according to the new rules.
The reserves, as selected by the coaches:
East: Kyle Lowry (Raptors), Bradley Beal (Wizards), John Wall (Wizards), Victor Oladipo (Pacers), Kevin Love (Cavaliers), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks), Al Horford (Celtics)
West: Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers), Russell Westbrook (Thunder), Klay Thompson (Warriors), Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves), Draymond Green (Warriors), LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs), Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
Two of the more surprising West snubs: Paul George and Chris Paul. There was also some talk Lou Williams, in the midst of a career season, could get chosen. Beal, Oladipo, Porzingis and Towns will all be making their All-Star debuts.
LeBron, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan were named as starters from the East while Steph, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins will represent the West. However, with conference affiliation no longer determining the makeup of each team, who plays with who will all come down to how the draft shakes out.
Since LeBron got more votes than Steph, he’ll have the first pick. All the starters must be taken before any of the reserves. Steph, meanwhile, gets first pick on the reserves. Look here for more info on how the new rules work.
This year’s game, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, is on February 18th and will start at 8:00 pm ET.
