Three first-timers for the East are on the NBA All-Star Game reserves.
The NBA picked the starters in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game last week. Fans, players, and the media voted on the players.
The reserves were revealed on Thursday evening, which meant that the teams for the annual show were complete.
The league’s head coaches made those choices. They chose two guards, three frontcourt players, and two other players of any position.
You may remember that the league got rid of the captain’s picks system and went back to the old-fashioned Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference matchup. See below for a list of the reserves from every conference.
A lot of first-time All-Stars are on the Eastern Conference reserves. New York Knicks forward Jalen Brunson, who helped lead his team to the No. 3 seed, is one of them.
His teammate Julius Randle has joined him. Unfortunately, Randle dislocated his shoulder at the end of last month and probably won’t be able to play this season.
This year’s other new All-Stars are Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, who is a strong candidate for Most Improved Player, as well as Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who is currently the Rookie of the Year.
The reserves in the West are completely different from those in the East. This group is made up of a lot of veterans, including Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard, who were all named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Game at the 2022 All-Star Game. All three will go into the Hall of Fame.
Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have both made the team, which is another interesting fact.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have the best record in the league and the best record in the Western Conference thanks to these two players. The Wolves look like real contenders for the first time in decades.
From February 16th to 18th, All-Star Weekend will be held in Indianapolis. This is the first time the event has been held there since 1985. As usual, the action will start on Friday via the Rising Stars Challenge.
On Saturday, it will be all-stars for a thrilling night. The show will end on Sunday with the All-Star Game.
The league is getting rid of the Elam Ending and bringing again the classic East vs. West matchup.
There will not be a target score within the fourth quarter. Instead, the teams will play an NBA game alongside four 12-minute quarters.
The NBA announced last week that the game will have 10 starters, with five from each conference. These players will join them. The game will be held in Indianapolis on February 18.
Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, is likely to replace several players in the Eastern Conference who are hurt. Randle (shoulder) will not be able to play in the All-Star Game, and Embiid (knee), who is the league’s current MVP, is not likely to be able to play after hurting his lateral meniscus.
It’s still not clear who will coach both conferences, and it might not be clear until Sunday. If things go as planned over the next few days, the coaches in the East will either be to the Milwaukee Bucks or the New York Knicks.
With a win over the Indiana Pacers, the Knicks will be the All-Star coaches. This will happen if the Lakers and Bucks fail to the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz, respectively.
If either of those events doesn’t happen, the honor will go to Doc Rivers and the Bucks coaches.
Rivers replaced fired Adrian Griffin as coach in Milwaukee last week. Joe Mazzulla as well as his staff within Boston can’t play because they coached the game the previous year.
It will be either the Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder, or the Clippers who coach in the West. Chris Finch will be the West’s coach if Minnesota gets its last two games this week, against the Magic on Friday and the Rockets on Sunday.
Mark Daigneault and the Thunder could win the award if they beat the Charlotte Hornets in Friday and the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. This is possible if Minnesota loses one of the games.
Tyson Lue and the Clippers staff will be coaching the game if LA beats both Detroit and Miami on Friday and Sunday. This is only the case if the Timberwolves and Thunder both lose.
This week, the NBA also announced that Curry will play WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu in a special 3-point contest on All-Star Saturday night.
This contest will happen between the regular 3-point contest and the slam dunk contest. Those events will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is where the NFL’s Colts of Indianapolis play.