The 2022 NBA All-Star game starters were revealed today and there were a couple of surprising selections.
No surprises with the two captains named, as Team Durant faces off with Team LeBron.
Kevin Durant will captain and draft his squad, but is looking unlikely to play in the event in Cleveland.
LeBron returns home to Ohio to captain his squad, and will look for yet another All-Star game victory.
West All-Star Starters:
Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Andrew Wiggins, Steph Curry and Ja Morant.
Yes. Andrew Wiggins is an All-Star Starter in 2022!
Wiggins has played extremely well this season, averaging 18.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG.
In the world of position less basketball, how does Devin Booker get over looked in his place?
Booker is averaging 25 PPG.
Devin Booker also plays on the team that leads the league with a record of 38-9.
There is no one more deserving of this all-star game start than Devin Booker is.
I guess we don’t reward winning basketball…
East All-Star Starters:
Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and Trae Young.
This would be up there with one of the best front courts of all time.
Joel Embiid enters the All-Star game as the current NBA MVP favourite.
He has flourished this season in a pure lead role, with a scoring point guard in Tyrese Maxey opening the floor up to dominate in the paint.
Giannis has also been dominant in his own right this season off the back of a Championship run last season, and will look to finish the 2nd half of the season strong and tie up a top 4 finish in the East.
DeMar DeRozan has been nothing short of phenomenal this season, and it would’ve been a travesty had he not been named a starter.
DeRozan is averaging 25.6 PPG, 4.8 APG and 5 RPG.
Speaking of not rewarding winning basketball, as well as Trae Young has played this season, his team sits 12th in the East.
Zach LaVine would be a great fit in this back court next to his running buddy DeMar, or Jimmy Butler, whose team also sits in 1st place in the East.
Jimmy has only played 30 games which could be his down fall, but his team has 9 more wins than the Atlanta Hawks…
Both teams in 1st position have no All-Star starters. It’s mind blowing.
It’ll be very interesting to see who is selected once the full squads are named!
Bauky