On Thursday night, as has become commonplace, TNT announced the starters for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. The 69th annual contest will take place from Chicago’s United Center on February 16 and, for the second year, will feature teams drafted by the top vote-getters from each conference.
For the second consecutive year, LeBron James led the Western Conference, while Giannis Antetokounmpo led the East. As a result, the contest will feature Team LeBron versus Team Giannis.
Aside from the two captains, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker and Trae Young were selected to represent the Western Conference, while Anthony Davis, James Harden, Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard were chosen from the West.
For the first time since 2014, no member of the Golden State Warriors was selected as a starter in the contest, although along with teammate D’Angelo Russell, Stephen Curry did receive some consideration.
Among guards in the conference, Curry finished 10th in voting, while Russell finished ninth. If nothing else, Curry’s ranking within the top 10 is indicative of his popularity among fans, as his placing sixth in the fan vote is what enabled him to land among the top vote-getters.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 24, 2020
Both Curry and Russell face long odds of being named reserves for the All-Star Game, as the coaches from each conference will vote to make those determinations. Both Donovan Mitchell and Chris Paul are all but certain to take two of seven reserve spots, and at least three of the remaining spots will go to frontcourt players.
That Curry and Russell were able to beat out DeMar DeRozan (11th), CJ McCollum (16th), Lou Williams (13th) and Jamal Murray (14th) comes as a bit of a surprise considering the Warriors will enter play on January 25 with the worst record in the league. With respect to Curry, he has been out of the lineup since November 4, appearing in just four contests thus far this season.
The reserves for the contest will be announced on TNT on January 31.