Prediction of final starters, reserves, biggest cramp

in 2025 NBA All-Star Game is approaching! A total of 24 of the best in the league will pack their bags and head to San Francisco for this year’s All-Star festivities hosted by the Golden State Warriors. an event that experienced certain changes compared to previous years.

Unlike the traditional East vs. West format, this year’s event will have a completely different schedule unlike anything we’ve ever seen. The pool of 24 players will be divided into three teams of eight players each for a mini-tournament format. The fourth team will consist of players from the winning team from Castrol Rising Stars.

How does this affect those voted as starters and reserves? We’ll find out very soon, as the NBA is set to announce 10 All-Star starters on Thursday, Jan. 23 ahead of TNT’s coverage of the games. Results of the fan vote have given us a glimpse of who might start in this year’s All-Star Game, but the final decision, which factors in votes from the media and NBA staff, will be made Thursday night.

It’s always hard to predict who will perform in the NBA All-Star Game, especially since it’s often a popularity contest. Many players who deserve recognition don’t get it because they either play in a small market or are simply overshadowed by former All-Stars and legends who have outstayed their welcome.

While this will undoubtedly happen again this season, several players will make their first All-Star appearances and the most successful teams will be rewarded.

So, who will end up being named an All-Star this NBA season, and who will end up being the most fickle? Here is my ballot for this season’s Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars.

Eastern Conference picks and predictions

Starters: G Donovan Mitchell (CLE), G Cade Cunningham (DET), F Jayson Tatum (BOS), F Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), C Karl-Anthony Towns (NIK)

Reserves: G Jaylen Brunson (NIC), F Jaylen Brown (BOS), G Trae Young (ATL), F/C Evan Mobley (CLE), F Pascal Siakam (IND), G LaMelo Ball (CHA), G Darius Garland. CLE)

Four of the five starting spots in the Eastern Conference shouldn’t even be up for debate.

Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Karl-Anthony Towns were the best in the East at their positions this season, and all will be starters in this year’s All-Star Game. However, that fifth and final spot is up for debate and will come down to a media vote.

In a fan vote, it was the Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball who took the top spot in the East backfield via Mitchell and Damian Lillard. Although LaMelo has been fantastic for the Hornets this season, they are just 11-28 overall and near the bottom of the league standings. It would be hard to justify the Ball heading east next to four players who are from the top four teams in the conference.

Then there’s the argument and comparisons of Cade Cunningham, Trae Young and Jalen Brunson. Darius Garland could be thrown into the mix as well, but the final starting spot next to Mitchell will come down to these three players.

No one thought the Detroit Pistons would be in the playoffs this season yet Cunningham was the catalyst for their success, he averaged 24.5 points, 9.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from three-point range. He’s 15th in points and third in assists, plus Cade’s seven triple-doubles this year Nikola Jokic (19) and LeBron James (9).

Brunson ranks ninth in scoring at 26.0 points per game and has been just as influential as Towns to the New York Knicks’ overall success. When talking about Young, his playmaking skills stand out with a league-leading 11.7 assists per game. Not to mention, the Atlanta Hawks have exceeded expectations and are above .500 thus far.

The two main differences here in my voting between Cunningham, Young and Brunson are the improvement and how each player has contributed to their team’s success. That’s why Cunningham got credit, as the improvements he made to his game to take the Pistons from 14 wins a season ago to a legitimate playoff team deserve everyone’s credit.

As for the rest of the East All-Star roster, everything else basically lines up. Brunson, Young and Ball enter as the conference’s top backcourt players, with Jaylen Brown also earning All-Star honors for the third straight season for his elite play on the wing in Boston.

The last three reserve spots are where things get interesting. More talent is needed in the frontcourt, and Evan Mobley makes the most sense to be the first All-Star at this spot. Mobley has been a key part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ success this season, and they wouldn’t have the best record in the league if it weren’t for him. Much can be said about Garland and his contributions.

It’s not uncommon for a team’s success and record to influence All-Star voting results, and the Cavs are very deserving of having three players in San Francisco this year. That leaves one final spot on the line with players like Damian Lillard, Pascal Siakam, Paolo Banchero and Tirese Mackey looking to be named All-Stars.

Siakam is the one getting the credit for the impact he made to help the Indiana Pacers make a run as of late. This was a close decision between the Pacers big man and Lillard, but Siakam’s efficiency and playmaking ability allowed the Pacers to pull even with the Milwaukee Bucks in the standings. An All-Star from both teams makes sense in this situation.

Western Conference Elections & predictions

Starters: G Shai Giljus-Alexander (OKC), G Stephen Curry (GSV), F/C Anthony Davis (LAL), F/C Viktor Vembanyama (SAS), C Nikola Jokic (DEN)

Reserves: G Anthony Edwards (MIN), G De’Aaron Fox (SAC), F Kevin Durant (PHKS), F LeBron James (LAL), C Alperen Sengun, G Norman Powell (LAC), F Jalen Williams (OKC)

Much like the Eastern Conference starters, there shouldn’t be anything really up for debate as to who starts in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeus-Aleksandar and Victor Vembanyama is 100 percent the starter at this year’s all-star game. If they don’t get voted out as rookies, these so-called “experts” who make the voting decisions have no idea what they’re doing and clearly don’t watch the games. While Jokic and Gilgeous-Aleksandar lead the NBA MVP race, Wemby is the clear favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.

There shouldn’t be much debate about Anthony Davis being named the starter either. Some will vote for LeBron just because they can’t help themselves, but Davis has been the main reason for the Los Angeles Lakers’ success this year. With one guard spot remaining, the discussion shifts to Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards.

While Edwards leads Curry in scoring, rebounding, three-point shooting and team scoring, this is the NBA we’re talking about. If LeBron somehow isn’t going to start, there’s no way the league is going to have Curry start a game on the bench either, especially since his Warriors are hosting All-Star Weekend! Edwards probably deserves a little more credit than Curry, but I don’t see a scenario where both Curry and James sit on the bench.

When filling out the rest of the West’s roster, the four backup spots can be automatically assigned to James, Edwards, De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Durant. Fox ranks in the top 10 in scoring this season and helped the Sacramento Kings rise from the ashes after firing Mike Brown. Durant and the Suns are still struggling, but the 36-year-old ranks sixth in the league in scoring.

If there’s one player who deserves to be named an All-Star this year, it’s Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets. Sengun is a lot like Jokic in the fact that he does a little bit of everything to help the Rockets win games. Since they have the second best record in the West, it’s hard to think of an argument against Sengun in February he goes to San Francisco.

The last two wild card reserves are omissions, especially since there are perhaps seven other players who deserve to be named All-Stars this year. After all, Norman Powell and Jalen Williams get the nod.

This season, Powell has been incredible for the LA Clippers, averaging a career-high 23.7 points per game while shooting 44.1 percent from three-point range. As good as James Harden has been, the Clippers wouldn’t have a winning record if Powell hadn’t moved from his role as the sixth man off the bench to the starting lineup and Paul George left last offseason.

The OKC Thunder own the best record in the West, which is why SGA shouldn’t be their only All-Star. Williams has proven to be one of the best two-way players in the NBA this season, joining Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander as the only players to average at least 20 points per game with at least 70 steals this season. It wouldn’t be right to give just one All-Star to this great emerging Thunder team.

The biggest snubs of all the stars

East: Damian Lillard, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Johnson, Tyrese McKay, Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine

West: Domantas Sabonis, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Jaren Jackson Jr., Devin Booker, Ja Morant

At this point, what else does Domantas Sabonis have to do for the rest of the league to start respecting him? It’s starting to look inevitable that the Kings’ big man will be left off the All-Star roster again just because the West’s frontcourt is stacked.

Voters won’t put Sabonis over Jokic, Wembey or Davis. They won’t do it through Durant and LeBron either. That means Sabonis has to go up against Sengun, who automatically has the upper hand because the Rockets don’t have true All-Star talent and it’s not like Houston can’t be without an All-Star this season.

Sabonis has been terrific this season for the Kings, averaging 20.8 points, a league-high 14.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor and a league-high 48.4 percent. with three points. Kings Center was the biggest offense since the 2024 NBA All-Star Game last year.

Other haters from the West include Harden, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., Devin Booker and Ja Morant.

It would be a little surprising to see no Memphis Grizzlies players included in this year’s All-Star game, but this roster has been hit hard by injuries again this season with guys in and out of the lineup. Not to mention, their success as a team comes from their depth, not Jackson or Morant dominating every night. Their stats just don’t match up to those who were selected as All-Stars.

As for Harden and Booker, they were left off the roster in place of their teammates Powell and Durant. Irving would be a great pick for the All-Star game given his contributions Doncic injuredbut it wouldn’t be right to give him the nod over Fox, Edwards or Williams as a backup.

In the Eastern Conference, Lillard is ultimately the most despised. While I believe voters will put Lillard in the All-Star Game over the likes of Ball or Young, it just wouldn’t feel right to reward victory over individual performances in this case. Ball is one of four players averaging at least 29 points per game this season, and Young leads the league in assists. That’s why they received the recognition of Ladies in the first place.

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner didn’t play enough games each to earn All-Star honors, and the amount of time Jaylen Johnson missed played a factor in Siakam earning All-Star honors in our voting. Tyrese McKay, Tyler Herro and Zach LaVine are part of the bottom teams in the East that haven’t had much success. Each of them will be a possible replacement if a real All-Star gets injured.