The NBA All Star Picks in a Wild Western Conference
The Starters:
Backcourt:
Steph Curry
Damian Lillard
Frontcourt:
LeBron James
Nikola Jokić
Kawhi Leonard
Let’s lighting round these 5, shall we? Jokić and LeBron are clear MVP candidates on playoff level teams, BOOM! Steph Curry is literally almost as good as he was in his unanimous MVP season in 15–16, BANG! Kawhi is the leader of the NBAs top offense in volume and efficiency as his playmaking steadily improves to new heights with every passing year, ZAM! I mean seriously, Luka really got the starting gig over Dame this year? I love Luka but Dame is seriously getting screwed over here. I mean the Blazers have been an infirmary with their top end talent this year and they’re sitting in 5th place. Who else do you give credit to on that team? Enes Kanter?
The Bench:
Backcourt:
Donovan Mitchell
Luka Dončić
Frontcourt:
Rudy Gobert
Paul George
Anthony Davis (out)
Zion Williamson
Some of these choices don’t need much justification. Luka is doing his usual thing in Dallas, and despite a rough start in a season full of expectations Dončić has been the driving force in Dallas’ late run of success (6–4 in their last 10) to bring them just 1 game under .500. Goberts impact numbers should speak for themselves. Even with Derrick Favors giving the team it’s first real backup center it’s had since Gobert emerged as a star, the Jazz struggle to hold other teams down defensively when Gobert is off the floor. Paul George isn’t the main reason the Clippers offense is absolutely rumbling opposing defenses this year, but he’s easily the 2nd biggest reason why as he’s been phenomenal on both ends this year. Speaking of Utah, Donovan Mitchell has became a much better and cleaner decision maker offensively this year and is shooting the best he ever has from 3 point territory on volume and efficiency. He’s a clear all star on a great Utah offense. As for Davis, we all know he’s going to miss the game, but despite a season where he’s struggling to produce on the court Davis has still been an all star. Crazy that even in his worst year in a while Davis is still clearly an all star value player isn’t it? That being said Zion Williamson will (should) get into his 1st All Star game, taking the place of AD….somewhat. Originally I would have Williamson as my 2nd wildcard spot, but with Davis’ status being officially out I thought I’d sort of just slide Zion into his spot cause the guy truly deserves it. While many fans still think the offense revolves around Brandon Ingram, Zion has been absolutely crushing it as the Pels offensive centerpiece and is arguably the best all around rim finisher in all of basketball at the moment. His defense (though his positioning has improved somewhat) still leaves a lot to be desired, but that’s heavily offset by how elite he’s been on offense this season. The Zion hype trains next stop is the all star game, and will keep on chugging towards bigger things afterwards.
The Wildcards:
Chris Paul
Devin Booker
The Chris Paul effect, that is all I need to state to rationalize why he’s here. Seriously, this is the second year in a row that this man (in his 30s!) has lifted a team with young talent into the playoff atmosphere in a stacked conference. As for Booker, he’s the real beneficiary of Davis being out and is the conferences number 1 snub if a healthy AD was existent right now. The Suns backcourt has been a terrific pairing and is helping a scorching Phoenix Suns team almost get their way past an LA team (!) in the standings. Who would’ve thought huh?
Notable Snubs:
Mike Conley
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
I really couldn’t think of a 3rd person I could put on here that I feel almost guilty for leaving out which is very unusual in the West. I feel somewhat bad for Conley who as a 30plus year old guard will likely never be this close to All Star status again but deep down I can’t find a spot for him here. As for SGA, I feel the complete opposite of guilt as I know he has multiple appearances in this game that’ll come in the future.
Well, that is all. Enjoy the game and hopefully none of you unironically have Jordan Clarkson picked as an all star this year! (cough cough Charles Barkley)
