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The 2022 edition of the NBA All Star Game is quickly approaching, and after several long weeks of voting and debates we finally know who will be going to Cleveland on Sunday, Feb. 20th. As has been the case since the NBA revamped its All Star Game in 2018, the game will not be played in the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format, but rather in a team captain format where the leading vote-getters from each conference will select their roster (first starters and then reserves) from the player pool. For the second straight season, the All Star captains are LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets. James has been an All Star captain every season since the new format was implemented, and this is Durant’s second time as a captain.
Both captains’ teams are in danger of missing the playoffs this season, but both James and Durant have been individually spectacular. James has been incredible at age 37, averaging 29 points per game, with 6 assists and 8 rebounds per game. Without their star forward this Lakers squad would most likely be sitting at the very bottom of the ever-ultra competitive West. Durant has been far from the biggest storyline in Brooklyn this year, with his excellence overshadowed by his co-star Kyrie Irving’s anti-vaccine controversy and his other co-star James Harden’s recent rumors of discontent and desire for a trade, which in fact resulted in his being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers at the trade deadline, February 10th. Despite these distractions, Durant was on an incredible run of play prior to his knee sprain, averaging 29/5/7.
The rest of the starters from the East are as follows: guard Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, forward DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls, forward Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, and center Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. Embiid has been on a tear of late, averaging 29/4/10 for a surging Sixers squad, vaulting himself into the MVP conversation, and providing a beacon of hope from the Ben Simmons drama in Philadelphia, who was in fact the player the 76ers swapped for Harden.
Antetokounmpo, fresh off of leading Milwaukee to their first NBA title since the 1970s, has battled injuries this year but has Milwaukee in the top three in the East and has averaged 29/6/11 for the season. Milwaukee has also added some signature wins, with three straight recent 130+ point performances.
DeRozan has been one of the best stories of 2021/22, vaulting the Bulls to the top of the East standings in his first season in Chicago, garnering himself some fringe MVP dialogue with averages of 27/5/5.
Young is undoubtedly an All Star, but is a controversial inclusion as a starter. He’s averaging a gaudy 28/9/4, but Atlanta has been one of the biggest disappointments in the league this year. After a deep playoff run last year, the Hawks are fighting just to make the play-in tournament this season. It doesn’t help Young that he is once again one of the league’s worst defenders.
Out west, the other starters will be guard Stephen Curry and forward Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors, guard Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, and center Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Jokic is one of the league’s most unique players, its reigning MVP, and is firmly in the conversation to win those honors again. He’s dragged a Denver team missing its second and third best players to fifth in the West while averaging 26/8/14.
Morant has led a young, hungry Memphis team much further up the standings than anyone could have anticipated, currently sitting at third in the west. The third year guard is averaging 26/6/5 for a team that is far ahead of schedule.
Curry has led a resurgent Golden State team to second in the conference. He was the MVP favorite for much of the season, and broke the all time 3-point record back in December, but a recent slump has seen him slide down the MVP ladder. Despite this slump, he has found his shooting touch again in recent games, is averaging 26/6/5, and, with Golden State nearly back at full strength for the first time in years with Klay Thompson’s recent return to the court, he has the Warriors as one of the title favorites again for the first time since Kevin Durant left for Brooklyn.
Joining Curry is the most controversial All Star starter, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins. In his second full season with Golden State, Wiggins has undoubtedly had an excellent season, far exceeding expectations. Wiggins has been one of the Warriors’ most consistent players all year, averaging 18/2/4 and defending at a high level; he’s finally looking like the player many expected when the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him first overall in 2014. With that being said, he should not be an All Star starter. He certainly has a strong case to be an All Star reserves, but rabid Warriors fans and a shoutout from a K-Pop star were enough to push his fan vote totals to such extreme levels that he was able to crack the starting lineup over candidates such as Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Phoenix Suns’ guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul, or Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic.
The West reserves are as follows: Gobert, Booker, Paul, Doncic, Golden State Warriors’ forward Draymond Green, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns. Gobert remains one of the best defensive players in the NBA, single-handedly turning what is otherwise a horrible Utah defense into one of the better ones in the NBA. With Utah sitting at fourth in the West, Gobert is averaging 16/1/15 for the season.
Fresh off of an NBA Finals appearance last season, Paul and Booker have Phoenix sitting atop the NBA standings. Both would be starters if the west backcourt didn’t include the two best guards in the NBA (Curry and Morant). Paul, ever the brilliant orchestrator and feisty defender, is averaging 15/10/5 at age 36, and Booker is one of the best pure scorers in the NBA, averaging 25/4/5.
Although his efficiency isn’t where many would like it to be, Doncic is in the midst of another excellent season, averaging 26/9/9 with Dallas sitting in the midst of the playoff picture. It’s easy to forget that the do-it-all Slovenian is just 22 years old.
As always, Draymond Green’s numbers don’t tell the story of why he is an All Star. The 31 year old forward is averaging 8/7/8 for the season, but has been the anchor of the Warriors’ league-best defense, and is also the main distributor for the offense once again. Before he got injured, Green was a virtual lock to take home the league’s defensive player of the year honors.
Mitchell, along with the aforementioned Gobert, is leading the offensive charge for another strong Utah squad. Mitchell’s strong averages of 25/5/4 and explosive style of play more than warrant another all star selection.
Towns is averaging 24/4/10 for a Minnesota team that he and fellow young star Anthony Edwards have, somewhat surprisingly, in the thick of the playoff picture.
The All Star Game will be televised on TNT on Sunday, February 20th.
