NBA All-Star reserves revealed; Chris Paul earns 12th nod

February 5 ------ Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul was selected to his 12th career NBA All-Star game, one of 14 players added to the game as reserves.

Paul has by far the most seniority of the group. Among Western Conference players, he was joined by Suns teammate Devin Booker, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, Golden State Warriors defensive stopper Draymond Green, and Utah Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Green has a back injury and won’t play, however. Commissioner Adam Silver will choose his replacement.

The seven reserves selected from the Eastern Conference are Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat), Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), James Harden (Brooklyn Nets), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), and Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors).

The reserves were voted on by the head coaches of each conference. The All-Star Draft is set for February 10, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant serving as captains after compiling the most votes during the balloting process. They were named starters last week along with Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), and Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies).

The game will take place February 20 in Cleveland. Paul, 36, is averaging 14.9 points, 10.4 assists, and 4.5 rebounds while making 48.9% of his shots for the Suns, who own the best record in the league and are vying to return to the NBA Finals.

It marks the first All-Star selection for Garland and VanVleet. In his third NBA season, Garland has guided the Cavaliers to a surprising start by averaging 19.8 points, 8.2 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. VanVleet, the fourth undrafted player to make an All-Star Game in NBA history, was averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds entering Thursday’s action.

Source: rappler.com