With the 2020 NBA All-Star reserve players set to be unveiled Thursday night, the crew on TNT offered their predictions for which players will be selected for the annual game to be played on Feb. 16 in Chicago.
The head coaches in the NBA were responsible for selecting seven reserve players from each conference after the starters were announced last week on TNT.
Ahead of the official announcement, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley chose Memphis Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant as his prediction to make the reserves in the Western Conference.
Morant leads all rookies in scoring (17.5) and assists (7.2) while he is also posting 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 42 games played this season with the Grizzlies.
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The 2020 #NBAAllStar reserves will be announced tonight at 7pm ET on TNT. pic.twitter.com/aNTv8Ib82I
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As it relates to the rookie class, Morant is likely the only player with a chance to be named an All-Star after a remarkable start to his first year in the league.
Morant faces a tough road to earning a place on the roster, though.
The Western Conference has several players worthy of a selection. Each of the four TNT analysts selected Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert for five of the seven reserves.
From there, Morant will likely have to battle between the likes of Devin Booker, Brandon Ingram, Nikola Jokic and Paul George among others for the final two spots. Rookies typically have a tough road to becoming an All-Star so Morant may ultimately miss out this season.
Though he may not be a lock this season, Morant appears to be a mainstay in the All-Star Game for several seasons to come.
The reserves will be named on the TNT NBA Tip-Off show at 7 p.m. ET.
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