NBA coaches have shown their confidence in Victor Wembanyama, deeming him one of the top players in the league. The San Antonio Spurs star, who recently earned the title of rookie of the year, has been selected as an All-Star for the very first time. This announcement was made on Thursday night, revealing Wembanyama as one of the 14 players chosen for the reserve pool for the All-Star event slated for February 16 in San Francisco.
Wembanyama’s achievement is noteworthy, as he becomes just the fourth player from the Spurs to make the All-Star Game within his first or second season. The other prominent Spurs players to earn this honor were Alvin Robertson in 1986, David Robinson during the 1990 and 1991 seasons, and Tim Duncan in 1998. “This is a testament to his first year and a half in the league, the effort he has invested before this, and his commitment to gradual improvement,” stated acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson during an interview in Paris. He emphasized that Wembanyama’s dedication allowed for his talents and unique skills to truly flourish.
The selection of reserves was made by coaches, following the announcement of the ten starters, which was determined through a combination of fan voting (50%), media votes (25%), and votes from active players (25%). The reserves chosen included players from both conferences, with seven picked for each side. Notable selections from the Eastern Conference were Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Cleveland’s Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard—last year’s All-Star MVP—and Miami’s Tyler Herro. In the Western Conference, Wembanyama was joined by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the Clippers’ James Harden, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Houston’s Alperen Sengun, and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams.
Among the reserves, Wembanyama, Cunningham, Mobley, Herro, Sengun, and Williams are all making their All-Star debuts. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be a part of this event,” commented Herro on the selection. The starters announced last week include some of the biggest names in basketball: Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Lakers’ LeBron James—marking his record-setting 21st All-Star appearance—Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, New York’s Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
Several teams achieved multiple All-Star selections, with Cleveland, the Lakers, Oklahoma City, Boston, Milwaukee, and New York each having two representatives. Meanwhile, teams such as Golden State, Phoenix, Denver, Minnesota, the Clippers, Memphis, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Indiana, and Miami each garnered one selection. Notable absences from the All-Star roster included teams from Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah, and Washington.
This year’s All-Star game will feature an innovative format that includes three games with a total of at least 15 players starting. The 24 All-Stars will be split into three teams of eight, drafted by renowned TNT personalities and former NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith. The draft is scheduled for February 6, preceding the competition featuring a four-team tournament format. This will feature semifinal games, with the winners progressing to a championship match. The rules stipulate that the games will be quicker, with the first team to reach 40 points declared the winner.
In an effort to make the All-Star Game more competitive, the league has introduced this new format, following last year’s record-setting game that ended with a score of 211-186, characterized mainly by three-pointers and dunks. “We went back to the drawing board,” commented NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, highlighting the direct conversations held with players and All-Stars about enhancing the competitive edge. He expressed optimism that the new format would successfully deliver on this front.
Coaching duties for the teams will be handled by Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault along with an assistant, while Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson and his assistant will manage the others. Some notable players who were surprisingly left out of the All-Star selections include Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball—who narrowly missed the starting spot due to a lack of support from coaches—and Atlanta’s Trae Young, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic—who has played only 22 games due to injuries—and the Clippers’ Norman Powell.
LaMelo Ball is performing impressively, ranking fourth in the NBA with an average of 28.2 points, alongside 7.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds. If his teammate Doncic had qualified by playing enough games to make it onto the leaderboards, he would also rank third, scoring an average of 28.1 points, along with 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists. Should they maintain their current statistics but miss out on the All-Star Game, they would make history as the only players in NBA history to have such impressive metrics and not be selected. However, there remains a possibility that one or both may be chosen as injury replacements by Silver in the weeks to come.
