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Kevin Pelton, ESPN Senior Writer
Much has changed since we last checked in on potential rosters for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco a little more than a month ago.
Unfortunately, injuries have taken some stars who should be in action at the Chase Center out of the mix. Not counting the delayed start to the 2020-21 season, over the past six years no player has been chosen an All-Star with fewer than 29 games played through the month of January. And that one exception, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson in 2023, was voted a starter. No reserve has made it in that span while missing more than 19 of his team’s games through the end of January.
That history surely rules out Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, a likely first-time All-Star who played 25 games before suffering an oblique strain. The tougher question is Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, an All-Star every year since his rookie campaign. Doncic is currently at 22 games and isn’t expected to be reevaluated for a calf injury until the end of the month.
If Doncic isn’t voted a starter — he was third among Western Conference backcourt players in Thursday’s most recent returns — he’s probably not going to be chosen as a reserve, creating an opening on the roster.
Lastly, fan voting returns from Thursday suggest that LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets has a strong chance to be voted as a starter. He leads all East backcourt players in fan voting. Given Ball’s time missed to injury (11 games so far) and Charlotte’s lowly 8-27 record, his safest path to the All-Star Game is as a starter.
Though the rosters for the three teams participating in an All-Star mini tournament will be drafted by the hosts of TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” we break things down in accordance with how the player pool is chosen — two backcourt starters and three in the frontcourt by conference, with the same number of reserves and two wild-card selections regardless of position — while noting which players might be missing out.
Let’s get to my picks for all 24 spots, featuring superstar locks, a few first-timers and plenty of competition for the final wild cards.
East starters
Backcourt: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
An All-Star each of the past five seasons, Mitchell seems certain to start as the Cavaliers have raced to the NBA’s best record (32-4). Mitchell is second in fan voting and will surely be among the top media picks.
Backcourt: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
Ball’s case is more interesting. His chances will depend on whether he gets any media votes and how many total guards get votes. The NBA treats all players who don’t get media votes as finishing tied for the next spot after the players who do get them. If, for example, the media votes go exclusively to Mitchell and Jalen Brunson, that would put Ball third. In that scenario, assuming current fan voting holds, Ball would need to finish five spots below Brunson in player voting to get pushed out of the starting lineup.
By contrast, if a handful of different guards get votes from the media and Ball does not, it becomes more reasonable for Brunson to leap him thanks to media voting. For Brunson, a lock to make the team as a reserve, this difference is academic. In Ball’s case, it represents easily his best chance of being an All-Star for the second time.
Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
With the most fan votes of any player thus far, Antetokounmpo is well on his way to being a team captain for the fourth time in his career.
Frontcourt: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Tatum also should sail to a starting spot, the third consecutive year he’ll be voted a starter.
Frontcourt: Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
Whether Brunson or Towns is having the better season for New York is an interesting debate, but given the relative strength of the East’s backcourt and frontcourt pools, Towns is the far more likely starter. Sitting third in fan voting, he has more than doubled the total of the next-highest player — the Magic’s Paolo Banchero, who has played just five games before his scheduled return to the lineup Friday night and is not a legitimate All-Star contender this year.
East reserves
Backcourt: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
If he’s not voted a starter, Brunson will presumably be the first name Eastern Conference coaches write in for the reserve pool. The decision at guard gets much more complicated from there.
Backcourt: Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
I left Young off my first version of All-Star teams because of his slow shooting start. Young’s efficiency has picked up in December and January, and the Hawks’ run to the NBA Cup semifinals will probably appeal to coaches, who prefer to reward winning teams. Add in Young’s league-leading 12.2 assists per game and I’d narrowly put him at the top of a deep group of guard candidates.
Frontcourt: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
The Finals MVP isn’t in line to be voted a starter, but he belongs at the top of the East reserve pool in the frontcourt.
Frontcourt: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
The next near-automatic selection in the East frontcourt is Mobley, the interior anchor for the NBA’s best team. Mobley has taken an important step forward, averaging a career-high 18.9 PPG while providing enough floor spacing (a career-high 1.3 3s per game at a 40% clip) to make Cleveland’s gigantic starting frontcourt work.
Frontcourt: Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers
Wagner’s injury opens the door for Allen to make his second All-Star appearance. Although he’s not as important offensively as Mobley, Allen’s vertical spacing is valuable in its own right. He’s shooting a career-high 70% from the field and combines with Mobley to lock down the paint on defense. Coaches might consider Pascal Siakam, who leads the Indiana Pacers in scoring, but I suspect they’ll reward the Cavaliers with a third All-Star.
Wild card: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
An All-Star in six of the past seven seasons — all but 2021-22, when core muscle surgery ended his season after 29 games — Lillard will have to sweat it out this time around. Ultimately, I think Lillard’s track record and the Bucks’ NBA Cup title run will see him through. He’s having a better offensive season than 2023-24, and Milwaukee is still ahead of most of the other contenders for this spot in the standings.
Wild card: Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
There are at least five other East guards who can make a credible case for the last spot on the roster. Garland has arguably been more valuable than Allen in Cleveland’s start, Derrick White is averaging a career-high 17.1 PPG with his typical outstanding advanced stats, both Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey were on the roster a year ago, and Tyler Herro is averaging 23.6 PPG with better efficiency than anyone in this group but Garland.
I think Haliburton has the most underrated case. A starter a year ago, he’s still being compared to his red-hot first half of 2023-24 and coming up short. Yet Haliburton has a couple of statistical factors in his favor. His best strength, avoiding turnovers, tends to be invisible in the box score. (He’s averaging 2.5 fewer than Cunningham, for example.) Additionally, Haliburton has played more minutes than anyone not on the Knicks, explaining why he’s at or near the top of this group in value metrics. If Indiana can climb ahead of Milwaukee by the time the coaches vote, it might bolster Haliburton’s chances.
Still, I’m giving the last spot to Cunningham, the face of the Pistons’ rise into the East’s top nine after finishing with the NBA’s worst record last season. Cunningham leads this group in assists per game (9.3, third in the league) and has improved dramatically as a 3-point shooter. Whether Cunningham makes it this season or not, there are surely All-Star appearances in his future.
West starters
Backcourt: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
The current betting favorite for MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander is leading West backcourt players in fan voting and should cruise to the top spot among the media as well.
Backcourt: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Doncic’s injury means fan voting should lift Curry to a starting spot in front of home fans in the Bay. He holds a narrow lead over Doncic right now and is more likely to get media votes. The expected second finisher in media voting, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, is a distant fifth in fan voting and probably has too much ground to make up to be a starter.
Frontcourt: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Despite his general indifference to All-Star festivities, Jokic can’t be picked last if he’s a team captain. Jokic leads all West players in fan voting and is just ahead of Tatum for second overall.
Frontcourt: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
The other two West frontcourt spots will get more interesting. Durant holds a lead of barely 2,000 votes (out of nearly 2 million apiece) over LeBron James for the second spot, which could be relevant depending how well Victor Wembanyama does in media voting.
Frontcourt: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Ranking third in the West frontcourt in fan voting leaves James somewhat vulnerable to being left out of the starters for the first time since 2004, when he was not chosen an All-Star as a 19-year-old rookie. Wembanyama seems likely to finish ahead of James in media voting, which could leave the decision in the hands of players. For now, I’m projecting James to be the third and final starter.
West reserves
Backcourt: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Currently enjoying the best offensive season of his career after a breakout playoff run, Edwards will probably be the first name West coaches write in for their backcourt picks.
Backcourt: Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Irving’s back injury, a bulging disk, puts his first All-Star appearance with Dallas in some jeopardy. Irving has played 30 games thus far, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be back by the time coaches vote. Still, I think Irving’s strong start — including a career-high 44% on 3s — will put him on the roster, ahead of Doncic by virtue of better health thus far.
Frontcourt: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Whether Wembanyama is voted a starter won’t affect his chances of making the team. Either way, he’s headed for his first of many All-Star Games after leading San Antonio into the thick of the West play-in race by taking a step forward from an already terrific rookie campaign.
Frontcourt: Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Given the crowd in the West frontcourt, Davis has been the odd man out in fan voting, ranking fifth. As an illustration of how top-heavy the group is, only one other player (Alperen Sengun) is within a million votes of Davis. He’s an obvious reserve choice.
Frontcourt: Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
Coaches will surely want to reward a Memphis team that has the NBA’s fourth-best point differential with an All-Star, and the time Ja Morant has missed due to injury means Jackson is now the clear choice from the Grizzlies. Jackson has boosted his scoring from when he was chosen an All-Star reserve in 2023, though he’s not on track to repeat his Defensive Player of the Year campaign.
Wild card: Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
Like the Grizzlies, the Rockets have played well enough that coaches might feel obligated to pick a Houston player as an All-Star reserve. As the team’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer and distributor, Sengun is the most logical candidate for what would be his All-Star debut.
Wild card: Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
During the last update, I had Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns in this spot. Since then, Booker has missed five games and the Suns have sunk to 12th in the West standings. The other top guard candidate, De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings, is on a team tied for 10th and seems unlikely to get the benefit of the doubt from coaches after Mike Brown was fired.
That leaves Williams as the clear and deserving choice for the last spot. With Chet Holmgren sidelined, Williams has been the unquestioned No. 2 player on the West’s top team, ranking second on the Thunder in scoring and assists while defending multiple positions.