You guys know how I feel about about basketball. It's the best sport in the world, and All-Star Weekend is the funnest weekend of the season. Getting all of the best players in the entire world together for some great challenges. And there is nothing better than watching the greatest players in the game display their talents (mostly offensively) for 48 minutes. For now, we at least know who will be starting the game for each conference. The votes are broken down this way: Fans 50% Media 25% Players 25%. Let's see if the fans, media, and players got it right! Western Conference Lebron James Obviously. We're talking about a guy who is playing in his 15th All-Star game, with his third different team, his first in the Western Conference, and his second year in a row as "Team Captain." Although he has missed the last month of the season due to injury, there was no way he wasn't going to be voted as a starter. It would be like eating cereal without milk. You can go on the street and ask anybody who the most popular basketball player on the planet is, and I'm sure at least 80% of those people are going to say Lebron James. Even people who have never watched an NBA game have heard of Lebron James. So yeah, he's starting. And it is to no surprise. Kevin Durant This guy has been nothing short of spectacular this season. His name has been drug through the mud by the fans and the media because of his decision to take his talents to the Bay Area. However, he is easily a top-3 player in the world and he was a lock to be a starter this year. He has been available for every game this season on the best team in the league. And we all know that availability is the greatest ability. He has made the game look so easy, and there have been nights where he has gone for 40+ and made it look routine. This was another easy choice. Stephen Curry The Chef will be cooking once again in front of his hometown in Charlotte. This homecoming will be a beautiful one, as he will be able to play alongside Lebron James for the first time in his All-Star career. It is going to be fun to see what these guys have in store for us as a tandem. Possibly a small preview of the next Olympics. Curry is the second best player in the world, and this choice was another no-brainer. You could've put whoever next to these three guys and it would've been a stacked lineup. But instead, in only gets better. James Harden Hands down, the best offensive player in the game right now is already my early favorite to win All-Star MVP. This guy has been on an absolute tear. And this selection comes one night after he drops 61 points in Madison Square Garden. This game is made for a guy like him. Nobody is going to play defense until the 4th quarter, by then he'll probably have about 40 points. I would not be surprised if he breaks the record for most points in an All-Star game, and I hope he does. Paul George Those first four guys were obvious locks. If any of them weren't starters, there might have been a re-vote. However, this last spot was up for grabs. Typically, you get two guards, two forwards, and a center. But the last couple of years the voting has been slightly different, where we get two "Frontcourt" players and three "Backcourt" players. If we had to choose a center, if would've been either Anthony Davis or Nikola Jokic. But the way the voting is designed now allowed for us to get the 5th best player into the starting lineup. This guy has been unbelievable since signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and has done nothing but take the reign as a leader of his hot team. He has been the best defensive player in the game up to this point in the season, and neither of those other guys I previously mentioned deserved this spot over him. The fans, media, and players definitely got this starting lineup right. Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Every time I spell his last name, I have to to pronounce it out loud like four times to make sure I got it right. This guy man. Among the players vote, he was the top vote-getter and much deserved. In his third All-Star game, he will represent the East as the "Team Captain." If it wasn't for James Harden's recent hot streak, he would be leading the race as the MVP. His play has made the Milwaukee Bucks look indestructible on their way to the first spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Look for him to play hard on both sides of the ball in this game as he will want to assert his dominance as the next face of the NBA. Kawhi Leonard His first season with the Toronto Raptors has looked extremely promising. His swap for Demar Derozan has had the Raptors looking just as good as the Bucks as the best team in the East. He is playing as well as we remember he once could when he was healthy. He hasn't had the greatest availability, as he has missed multiple games due to injury or rest. But this is how it is with Kawhi, he makes his own schedule. But when you're this good, you do what you want. These two guys are going to take this game a lot more seriously than anyone in the West, as they will look to prove that the East is not any less talented. Joel Embiid The biggest troll in the NBA, both on and off the court. He has been the best center in the league all season, and to see what he has done with health on his side has been magnificent. We're talking about a guy who can do everything on the basketball court on both sides of the ball. He has got every move in his bag. Hakeem Olajuwan with a Euro-step. Shaq with a free-throw shot. Tim Duncan with three-point range. Yao Ming with Twitter fingers. This guy is going to have some fun with it, and don't be surprise if we get an Instagram Live story in the middle of the game. Kyrie Irving Uncle Drew isn't going to be the captain of the East, but he is definitely going to be the vocal leader. This lineup is stacked with guys who probably care just a little bit more about actually winning this game. It has been an up and down year for Kyrie in terms of his image. But his play on the court has been the best of his career. The Boston Celtics have struggled with and without him on the court, but his individual play makes him more than deserving for this spot. He is easily the best point guard in the East. Hopefully we see someone in the game try to shut down his handles, and they get dropped like a rock. We need some Vine-worthy content. Kemba Walker The odd man out. No disrespect to Kemba. I love his game, and I have since his crazy championship run at UConn. However, he wouldn't even be an All-Star reserve in the West. So to see him as a starter in the East is a bit surprising. His great start to the season may have been enough to get him this starting nod, well yeah obviously it did. His team is under .500, but this is an individual accomplishment. The game is in Charlotte, so this could be why he got more votes during this time. I am excited to see the hometown crowd go crazy for him when they announce his name. But there are a couple guys who are definitely more deserving. Bradley Beal has averaged over 30 points per game since John Wall went down with injury, and his play has put his team back into playoff contention. Ben Simmons has averaged 16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists, with a shooting percentage of 58%. Not to mention he has had 8 triple-doubles and 31 double-doubles. So the fans, media, and players got this last spot wrong. However, it is pretty dope that Kemba got this spot for the Charlotte crowd. This game is going to be dope. I'm sure there will be a lot of wide open pull up threes, lanes for some crazy dunks, and fastbacks with multiple alley-oops. It won’t be East vs. West, but Team Lebron vs. Team Giannis. Stay tuned for how the draft turns out! I’ll definitely keep y’all posted and will let you know the rules to how the draft works! CAN'T WAIT!
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Anthony VallesterosJust a man trying to make the most of his time on this planet. Categories
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