For the seventh year in a row, the NBA asked me if I wanted to be one of the media members who voted on which players should start in the NBA All-Star Game. For reasons beyond comprehension, I said yes. Here is how I used my ballot.
A quick reminder: Yes, the NBA has once again changed the format of the All-Star Game – this time to a round-robin tournament consisting of two teams of American players and one “world” roster, which resulted in the selection of 16 US-born players and eight international players … unless the results of the voting count a few There are 16 US-born players or eight international players in the scheme, where NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will begin naming American or international players to balance the sides. (Find all that confusing? You’re not alone!)
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Despite recent proposals for structural changes to add juice to the process, the nuts and bolts of voting remain unchanged: You vote for five guys in each conference, fan voting counts for 50% of the final result, and player and media votes count for 25% each. The biggest performance difference this year? Instead of selecting three frontcourt players and two backcourt players from each conference, the vote went completely blank. Just pick five guys, and keep going.
(Jonathan Castro/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
Let’s start in the West:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
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Nikola Jokić, Nuggets
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Luka Dončić, Lakers
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
All stats and records going into Thursday’s games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
If you’re reading this, I don’t think I have to burn a lot of calories to convince you that Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić – who finished in the top two in the Most Valuable Player voting the last two seasons, and may have been the top two this season, regardless of eligibility – were worthy of the vote.
Gilgeous-Alexander came back from winning his first MVP trophy and NBA championship looking better than anything. He is second in the NBA in scoring, averaging 31.9 points per game in a brilliant 55/39/89 split, producing points efficiently and turning the ball over a little as the best striker in a Thunder team that opened the season 24-1 and that – despite what it qualifies as “the best pace in these 8 days” – continues to win (and the team’s point difference of 70 wins). With SGA down, the Thunder outscored opponents by 16.5 points per 100 possessions — the largest margin of any player in the NBA, according to Basketball Reference.
Hey, here’s something I just looked up: Only three guards in NBA history averaged 30 points and five assists per game while shooting 50% from the floor. Stephen Curry did it with his inconsistent MVP season in 2015-16. Michael Jordan did it five times. Gilgeous-Alexander, in year 8, is in his fourth state … in a row.
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What it means: This is a historic run, one that could eliminate SGA from the top-flight contention before all is said and done. For now, though, it will land him on his fourth consecutive All-Star team.
Nikola Jokić, Nuggets
Before spraining his left knee, Jokić was off to a great start his work. And when you’ve won three MVPs, a mandoes that mean a hell of a lot.
Jokić is fifth in the NBA in scoring at 29.8 points per game this season the best league in rebounds and assists; he 12 totality points away from being on pace to join Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double in a season. On a per-minute and per-rebound basis, Jokić has never scored as many goals, thanks in part to the fact that he’s shooting 43.5% of his 4.8 3-point attempts per game, both career highs.
He is on pace to post the highest true shooting percentage in NBA history among players who use at least 25% of their team’s offensive possessions, surpassing all of them. He’s also on pace to set new all-time records for shares won in 48 minutes, box plus-minus and career efficiency average, and become the seventh player ever to assist on more than half of his teammates’ baskets; the Nuggets hit the bullseye 130.1 points per 100 possessions in his minutes, which is light years ahead of what even the best offenses in league history have accumulated. Missed games must be discarded: The list of players who have had a more consistent on-court impact than Jokić this season is one word longer or nonexistent. An easy choice.
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
So, too, is Wembanyama, the backbone of the Spurs’ rise to third place in the West and – thanks to knocking out defending champion Oklahoma City three times in four tries and reaching the NBA Cup championship game – a place among the bona fide title contenders.
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Some voters may feel more compelled to take Wemby out of his starting lineup because of his injuries: Due to a difficult first-season calf, followed by a knee strain that saw him sit out a few minutes, he played in just 26 games and 753 minutes — far fewer than other prime-time starting spot candidates. I can hear that. I don’t care about it either.
I mean, Come on: Dude averaged 24 points, 11 rebounds and three assists per game on 51.4% shooting at the age of 22 – no one has done that since Kareem, 56 years ago – while profiling as the most dangerous defensive force in the world.
There’s a lot that’s rewarding about San Antonio’s rise to the top: going to Stephon Castle, making a big leap for the second year; to De’Aaron Fox, reminding everyone why the Spurs went out, got him and paid him; in a cast full of guys (Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet, Julian Champagnie) who play like stars in their roles; to head coach Mitch Johnson, for shouldering the burden of carrying the mantle left to him by one of the greatest legends a coach has ever seen; etc. It all, however, starts with the man in the middle – and 750 minutes of what he’s been putting on tape was more than enough to get my vote.
Luka Dončić, Lakers
Dončić, meanwhile, leads the NBA in scoring with 33.4 points per game on a .606 shooting percentage to go along with 8.8 assists (fourth most in the league) and 7.9 rebounds a night – the leading guard in charge of a Lakers team fighting for a top-four spot in the tough West African standings.
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There are some nits to pick on the Lakers, who sit 10 games over .500 despite being good plus-1 for a season – not a single point for 100 goods; one point the time – and they’ve outscored the point differential and the 23rd-ranked defense, thanks in large part to being an NBA-best 13-1 in “clutch” games. But LA is winning on the strength of its offense, which ranks seventh in points scored per possession and is at its best with Luke leading the dance: The Lakers scored like thunder down and like the Pelicans with him out.
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
The first five places have come down to a handful of strong players during very good seasons. Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün kept the Houston Rockets in the top five offensively. again defensive efficiency, and in the hunt for a top-four spot outside the West, despite losing starting guard Fred VanVleet before the season. The ongoing investigation of salary overruns, Kawhi Leonard turned off almost two months – 30.1 points on 50/40/93 shooting with 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.1 shares per game since Thanksgiving – to turn the lifeless Clippers into one of the hottest NBA teams. In the Bay, Curry is scoring as many goals per minute and per possession as he did during his undecided MVP season a decade ago, and he’s doing so with incredible shooting on a Warriors team that is, as ever, reaching its limits.
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However, in the end, I came to Edwards, seeing both his role in driving Minnesota to the top – just one game out of second in the West entering Thursday’s games, with the NBA’s best record and the fourth best net rating since Thanksgiving – and his impressive individual production.
Edward’s remarkable success in increasing his scoring volume again performance throughout the years of his career continued. He averages a career-best 28.9 points per game on .626 true shooting — a combination of volume and efficiency that represents in a wonderful way an unusual spirit among NBA players – while lowering his turnover rate despite serving as Chris Finch’s point guard, getting to the free throw line more often, and continuing to play a key role on the ball in a Minnesota defense that is tied for fifth in points allowed per possession.
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He’s also been an absolute nail in crunch time — an area of concern for Minnesota in recent years — shooting hot. 70.7% from the floor (29-for-41), 57.1% from long range (8-for-14) and 83.3% from the foul line (10-for-12) when scoring within five points in the last five minutes:
Two-way play, growth as a facilitator, a steady increase in scoring and efficiency and that near or late lead – all in the service of keeping the Wolves in the hunt in the West – earned Edwards the final spot on my vote.
