As determined by votes from NBA coaches, Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook is among the seven Western Conference players selected as reserves for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
It’s the ninth All-Star berth of his storied career. Now in his first season away from Oklahoma City, the 2020 game will be the first of those nine appearances for Westbrook to represent another NBA team.
Westbrook will be joined at the All-Star Game by his Houston backcourt co-star, James Harden, who was named last week as a starter. It’s the first time since the 2013-14 season (Dwight Howard) that Harden has had an All-Star for that season as a teammate with the Rockets.
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For the 2019-20 season to date, Westbrook is averaging 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game with the Rockets (29-18). Both his points and assists totals are in the league’s top 10 in those categories.
But Westbrook has been even better in recent weeks. In 21 games since Dec. 7, the former MVP is averaging 30.5 points on 49.8% shooting.
Sources: 2020 NBA All-Star reserves:
East: Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Ben Simmons, Khris Middleton, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Domas Sabonis
West: Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Brandon Ingram, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 30, 2020
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That 30.5 point average makes Westbrook the NBA’s No. 3 overall scorer since Dec. 7, trailing only Harden and Portland’s Damian Lillard.
Westbrook was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2015 and 2016.
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It is unclear whether the 30-year-old Harden and 31-year-old Westbrook will be All-Star Game teammates, since the two rosters won’t be selected until next Thursday, Feb. 6, by team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. (The captains were determined by the player in each conference who received the most fan votes.)
From there, James and Antetokounmpo will each “draft” a team for the All-Star Game — beginning with four selections apiece from the pool of other starting players, including Harden, and then seven picks each among reserve players, such as Westbrook.