The NBA is constantly tinkering with its format for the All-Star Game. This year, that means three teams that are drafted by the Inside the NBA guys, with the winners of the Rising Stars Challenge (which will be led by Candace Parker) earning a spot on Sunday. There will be a pair of games between two of those teams, with the winners of each game moving on to the final, where an All-Star winner will be crowned.
This came after the leage experimented with the Elam Ending. It’s experimented with a lot of stuff over the years — East vs. West, captains drafting teams, different jerseys — in an effort to make the All-Star Game a premium television product that they can use to get more money from a television network fun for the fans. It also has a bit of a problem in that there’s more talent than ever in the league, and just naming 12 All-Stars for each conference is very difficult.
So, today, in a fun little exercise, we decided to expand the rosters to 15 (which the league should do, anyway) and take a page out of Major League Baseball’s book, where each team gets at least one All-Star, by answering a question: If every NBA team only got one All-Star this year, what would that look like? Some of these were very easy, some of these were very hard because of who got left off, and some of these were very hard because a few teams don’t really have an All-Star caliber player. And it’s worth noting that there are some incredibly obvious limitations for this format — for example, the East has one guy who can play center in Giannis Antetokounmpo, while the West has a ton of centers. But regardless, here’s how we think that would look.
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum
A lot of the narrative surrounding the Celtics right now has to do with their mid-season slump, which isn’t exactly an uncommon thing for a champion to go through. Regardless, Tatum has been great all year, and earned a starting nod for this year’s game. No reason to change that, even if it comes at the expense of Jaylen Brown.
Brooklyn Nets: Cam Johnson
There’s a little part of me that wants to put Cam Thomas, because Cam Thomas was put on this earth to light it up in a game where defense is optional in the eyes of everyone except for Adam Silver, but Johnson has been legitimately good this year, to the point that a contender might (and should) part ways with a lot in order to acquire him before the trade deadline. We’ll put him here.
New York Knicks: Jalen Brunson
Like Tatum, Brunson has been great this year, and has already earned a starting nod. You can make a very strong case that Karl-Anthony Towns — who has been unreal in New York — deserves the spot over him, but the Knicks are built around Brunson, so we’ll go with him.
Philadelphia 76ers: Tyrese Maxey
As much as I would love to jokingly give it to Guerschon Yabusele and hope Sixers fans don’t get mad at me (which, they probably wouldn’t, as they love Yabu), this has to be Maxey. He’s kept them afloat while Joel Embiid continues to struggle to stay on the floor and Paul George does an admirable impression of Tobias Harris from his time on the Sixers, and would just be a fun All-Star player in general.
Toronto Raptors: RJ Barrett
Not much has gone right in Toronto this year, but we’ll show some love to Barrett. While Scottie Barnes continues to leave his fingerprints all over games and Jakob Poeltl is quietly one of the best two-way centers in the NBA, Barrett has continued to thrive since going home in the trade that sent OG Anunoby to the Knicks.
Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine
Long viewed as an untradeable contract and a player who struggles to stay healthy, LaVine has been great in Chicago this year, as he’s been an efficient and dynamic scorer who sure looks like he can help a contender. Plus it’s Zach LaVine, and he’s the exact kind of explosive offensive player who tends to be a ton of fun in an All-Star Game.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell
One of the easiest selections on this list, as he’s already been named a starter and is the best player on the best team in the East. The Cavs are hurt by this exercise because they have four dudes who deserve All-Star nods — three of them (Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley) ended up getting selected — but Mitchell is an obvious pick here.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham
The Pistons have been a pleasant surprise this year, while Cunningham has gone from a young dude struggling to find his way to a rock solid guard and a building block that Detroit should lean on. He deserved his All-Star reserve selection this year, and deserves this.
Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton
It’s awfully close for me between Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, but we’ll narrowly give the nod to the former, even though the latter was the one who got selected to be a reserve. The main reason: Indiana’s been really good over the last month and a half or so, and that coincides with Haliburton getting out of his early season slump and looking like an All-Star. I wouldn’t blame anyone for going with Siakam — he’s been more consistent, and again, the coaches picked him — but Hali’s play lately and how that has elevated the team as a whole seals it.
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo
It’s Giannis. Well, I think we’re done here, let’s move on.
Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young
It almost feels like Young has gotten to be underrated — he didn’t even get selected as a reserve this year, even though he’s been great! His efficiency is down this season, but he’s done an awesome job setting up his teammates and still has a flair for the dramatic. He’s clearly Atlanta’s best player.
Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball
A little part of me wants to put Brandon Miller here for no reason other than Ball would get in as his injury replacement, but even then, Ball’s been the best player for the Hornets and is a terrific All-Star Game player. It’s been a rough season in Charlotte, but they’re building around Ball and Miller, and one of those guys is healthy, so he’s going.
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro
This is by no means a knock on Herro, but I cannot believe on a team with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler that he is the no-doubt choice here, and was the no-doubt choice for the coaches that picked All-Star reserves. He’s provided some much-needed stability and consistency while Adebayo struggles to snap out of a season-long slump and Butler, uh, yeah.
Orlando Magic: Franz Wagner
The Magic are a tough team for this exercise, as their two stars (Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner) missed extended periods of time with oblique injuries. Ultimately, we’ll give the nod to Wagner, as he’s played more and has generally been the better player.
Washington Wizards: Jordan Poole
I’ll be honest: The Wizards were a tough one here. I went with Poole because he’s their top scorer and watching him in an All-Star Game could be fun, but picking someone from an all-time terrible NBA team was not easy.
Western Conference
Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic
There’s this TikTok I once saw of Liverpool and Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister getting asked who is the best player he’s ever played with and why. His answer, simply, was “Messi … do I need to explain why? I don’t think so.” That is how I am approaching putting Jokic here. Next.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards is, by some distance, the best player on the Minnesota Timberwolves. No one else has an argument here.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, by some distance, the best player on the Oklahoma City Thunder. No one else has an argument here. And to answer your question: Yes, I just copy and pasted the previous section and plugged in a different player/team.
Portland Trail Blazers: Deni Avdija
If you want to say Anfernee Simons or even Shaedon Sharpe, I won’t argue. But Avdija has done a really nice job — whether he’s coming off the bench or starting — ever since the Blazers acquired him this offseason. A lot of the advanced metrics like Advija a lot, too. Maybe Sharpe, Scoot Henderson (who has thrived when he starts games), or Donovan Clingan becomes Portland’s best player long-term, but for now, let’s reward Avdija for a strong year.
Utah Jazz: Lauri Markkanen
Unlike most of the other extremely bad teams, Utah’s an easy one for this exercise. Markkanen is a legitimately good NBA player who has continued to be productive, even as the Jazz are doing everything they can to make sure Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper starts their career in Utah. He’s not putting up numbers like he did during his first (and only) All-Star appearance, but he’s still had a nice year. Walker Kessler quietly has a shout here, too, and if he took on a larger offensive role, I’d have plugged him in.
Golden State Warriors: Steph Curry
Even as Curry has shown that he can’t reach the heights on a nightly basis that he did earlier in his career, he’s still been great this year, one of the bright spots in an up-and-down year for Golden State. There’s no chance an All-Star Game in San Francisco can happen without him, but still, he’s the no-doubt pick.
Los Angeles Clippers: Norman Powell
I’ll be honest: I had James Harden here, as he’s kept the Clippers afloat without Kawhi Leonard to an extent I did not know he had in him at this point and the coaches picked him as a reserve. But you know what? Norman Powell has been incredible this season, scoring at a career-best clip in what seems like pure spite towards Paul George for leaving. Harden is also deserving, but let’s have some fun here and go with Powell.
Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis
Not going with LeBron James hurts my heart — he’s starting the game, while Davis is not — but Davis has just been flat-out better this season. He’s been his usual, menacing self on defense, while he’s putting up some of the best numbers he has during his time in L.A. The Lakers have said for years that they want it to be AD’s team, and now, it’s happening.
Phoenix Suns: Kevin Durant
You can go with either Durant or Devin Booker, and I’ll give Durant a slight nod as he’s the team’s leading scorer on some absolutely ridiculous efficiency numbers — he’s at 27.3 points per game on 52.7 percent shooting from the field and 40.2 percent shooting from three. Durant also leads the team in blocks per game, is tied for third in rebounds per game, and is third in assists per game. He’s aging like a fine wine, let’s send him to All-Star in this exercise.
Sacramento Kings: Domantas Sabonis
Part of this is because it’s unclear if De’Aaron Fox will be on the Kings at the All-Star break. But also, Sabonis has been terrific this year, as he’s the NBA’s top rebounder while leading Sacramento in assists. Fox scores more, but Sabonis scores more efficiently. We’ll go with him, but if you wanna say Fox, it wouldn’t be outrageous.
Dallas Mavericks: Kyrie Irving
Luka Doncic is the better player and has been awesome when he’s played this year, but he’s missed so much time due to injury that we’ll go with Irving, who has been no slouch in his own right. He continues to be one of the most magnetic guards in basketball, and his ability to win when he plays 1-on-1 fits right into an All-Star Game.
Houston Rockets: Alperen Sengun
The Rockets are the best story in basketball, and frankly, you can go in a few different directions here. I’ll say Sengun, who the coaches picked as a reserve and has played very well this year. Howeber, the thought of Amen Thompson playing in an All-Star Game and being the most athletic guy on the floor who catches lobs from Jokic is very exciting, while Jalen Green getting scorching hot in this environment would be fun.
Memphis Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr.
The highs that Ja Morant can reach are higher than anyone else on the Grizzlies, but between the amount of time he’s missed and how incredibly consistent Jackson has been this season, we’ll go with him, just like the coaches did. This is the best year of Jackson’s career, too, and it’s good to reward guys like that.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trey Murphy III
We here at Dime have long been fans of Murphy, and amid a really, really, really bad year for the Pelicans, he’s been a major bright spot. He’s shown that he is more than just a three-and-D wing, and while New Orleans tries to figure out what’s going to happen after this year, they can take solace in knowing he’s sticking around.
San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama
Feel free to reuse this section from now until the moment he’s retiring or leaves the Spurs: Wemby is a monster, one of the faces of the league, and will have his name written in ink on All-Star rosters going forward. He’s the pick here, and he will continue to be the pick here.