Not long after the starters were chosen, the reserves for the upcoming NBA All-Star game were officially selected as well.
For the Western Conference, the reserves will be the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George, the New Orleans’ Pelicans Zion Williamson, the Phoenix Suns’ Chris Paul, and the Portland Trailblazers’ Damien Lillard.
It should also be noted that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis was selected to be a reserve as well, but due to an injury will be substituted by the Suns’ Devin Booker.
Over on the Eastern Conference, here’s how the reserves will look. Brooklyn’s James Harden was an obvious choice, along with the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons. The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also got the nod, with the Chicago Bulls’ Zach Lavine, the Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic, and the New York Knicks’ Julius Randle getting invited as well.
This will be the first All-Star game for some, including the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson and the Knicks’ Julius Randle.
The NBA All-Star game reserves are selected by the head coaches of the NBA teams, so it’s certainly not a popularity contest, rather selections based on merit alone. The game will be played on March 7th.
