Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, 聽and Portland's Damian Lillard had to have known they were going to the all-star game. Players averaging more than 30 points per game typically don't have to worry about not hearing their name called.
Other players 鈥� like Miami's Bam Adebayo, Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton and Utah's Lauri Markkanen 鈥� had reason for concern.
NBA coaches made them very happy. And probably made a few other guys very unhappy.
The reserves for the Feb. 19 all-star Game in Salt Lake City were announced Thursday night. From the Eastern Conference, it was Embiid, Adebayo, Haliburton, Boston's Jaylen Brown, Chicago's DeMar DeRozan, Milwaukee's Jrue Holiday and New York's Julius Randle.
Even for a now six-time all-Star like DeRozan, it still matters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 everything," DeRozan said. 鈥淚 just hope anybody out there, whatever field you work in, never listens to the outside noise, to people doubting you, counting you out, everything. As long as you鈥檙e true to yourself, believe in yourself, you keep putting in the work with a genuine heart and genuine passion, you鈥檒l be rewarded.鈥�
From the Western Conference, the picks were Gilgeous-Alexander, Lillard, Memphis teammates Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., Markkanen, Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis and the Los Angeles Clippers' Paul George.
Gilgeous-Alexander, a first time all-star, has taken a quantum leap in his fifth season, averaging a career-high 30.8 points a night through 47 games, good for fifth in the league.
The Canadian guard's previous best was 24.8 points, coming last season.
鈥淓very single year, starter or not, I鈥檓 competitive," Embiid said. 鈥淥bviously you want to be the best. I felt like I put myself in position to be up there and the best."
He was an easy pick. Other candidates probably were tougher for coaches to pass on 鈥� that list including Phoenix's Devin Booker, the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis, Atlanta's Trae Young, all of them averaging around 27 points per game this season. Philadelphia's James Harden, averaging 11 assists per game, also was left out; unless he's picked as an injury replacement, his streak of 10 consecutive all-star appearances is over.
The reserves are selected by the 30 NBA head coaches, who each cast ballots for seven players from their own conference.
鈥淚t means a lot," Morant said on the TNT broadcast of the announcements. 鈥淥bviously, it shows my work that I've put in day in and day out. ... Hopefully, Jaren gets picked on the same team as me."
The 14 players who were announced Thursday join this pool of starters: Brooklyn teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Cleveland鈥檚 Donovan Mitchell, Boston鈥檚 Jayson Tatum, Golden State鈥檚 Stephen Curry, Dallas鈥� Luka Doncic, Denver鈥檚 Nikola Jokic and New Orleans鈥� Zion Williamson.
Durant and Williamson are currently out with injuries. If either of them, or any other all-star selection, cannot play for whatever reason then the task of replacing them falls on Commissioner Adam Silver.
shortly before the all-star game in a new twist this season; past All-Star drafts in the now-six-year-old captain's format had been done ahead of time. will coach Antetokounmpo's team; now for the second time and will coach the team that James selects.
James is 5-0 as a captain, having served as one in every season of this format. He got two of those wins over teams that Antetokounmpo selected. Abdul-Jabbar is expected at All-Star weekend, and Silver said in Paris last month that the weekend could provide the league with the opportunity to properly salute James taking over as the scoring leader, assuming it happens by then as expected.
the first night of the three-night all-star weekend. All-star Saturday 鈥� featuring the three-point contest, dunk contest and skills competition 鈥� takes center stage the next night, followed by the 72nd all-star game on Sunday.
___
AP Sports Writers Andrew Seligman in Chicago and Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
