Tag: 2020 NBA All-Star Game

All Star Update: First time Warriors without player in game since 2013

The 2020 All-Star team has been announced, and for the first time since 2013, the Golden State Warriors will not have a player represented in the game.

When the 2020 NBA All-Star Western Conference starters were announced last week, something was missing from the lineup — no representative from the Golden State Warriors for the first time since 2014.

Then, the 2020 NBA All-Star Western Conference reserves were announced for the game in Chicago; more bad news came for Golden State. For the first time since 2013, the Warriors will not be sending a player to the game.

The rise of the “Splash Brothers” era has sparked many accolades for the Golden State Warriors. Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Star appearances, and, of course, five consecutive trips to the NBA finals that resulted in three-championship banners hanging in the Chase Center rafters.

In 2013, David Lee made the All-Star game as a reserve, but from 2014 on, Stephen Curry started in every game until 2020. Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green all represented the Warriors in the All-Star game during that span.

However, with injuries to both Curry and Thompson during the 2019-20 season, the accolades have faded, and the losses have piled up. When the Western Conference All-Star reserves were announced Thursday evening, the Golden State Warriors were left out.

NBA All-Star weekend will start in Chicago on Thursday, February 16, with things like the Rising Stars Challenge and the 3-Point Shootout events leading up to the game on Sunday, February 19.

NBA announces changes to All-Star Game, ASG tribute to Kobe Bryant

Team LeBron and Team Giannis will have the scores set to 0-0 in each of the first three quarters before a 4th quarter tribute to Kobe.

Later this evening, the NBA will announce the pool of reserves from the Western Conference and Eastern Conference to be selected by Team Giannis and Team LeBron during the draft for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago. But before the rest of the All-Star players are announced, the league announced some changes to how the game will be played, including a tribute in the fourth quarter to Kobe Bryant.

In a change from the past few years, each of the first three quarters of the game will start at 0-0. The winner of each quarter will win $100,000 to a Chicago-based charity of their choosing. Then the fourth quarter will begin with a cumulative score from the first three quarters. Then as a tribute to Kobe Bryant, they will add 24 points to the leading team’s point total after three quarters to create a target score that both teams will play to in an untimed fourth quarter.

The tribute to Kobe is an adapted version of the Elam Ending, which is most famously used in the summer event called “The Basketball Tournament.” In the Elam Ending, the clock is shut off in the final four minutes and the winning team adds seven points to create the game’s target score. In the All-Star version, the entire fourth quarter will be untimed with the target score decided by an extra 24 points.

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Lakers coach Frank Vogel to be head coach of Team LeBron in All-Star Game

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has qualified to be one of the two All-Star head coaches in the 2020 All-Star Game.

Thursday night was a banner day for the Los Angeles Lakers franchise and only part of it had to do with the victory they scored at Barclay’s Center against the Brooklyn Nets. Only a few hours after their leader LeBron James was named a captain for the 2020 All-Star Game and that his running-mate Anthony Davis was also named a starter, their head coach also earned All-Star honors.

With the win over Brooklyn, Lakers coach Frank Vogel secured his place as the head coach of Team LeBron in the 2020 All-Star Game. That presumably opens the door for an All-Lakers trio on Team LeBron, provided James picks Davis like most to expect he will with the No. 1 overall pick.

2020 marks the second NBA All-Star Game head coaching honor for Vogel, who coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2014 All-Star Game. LeBron James, then with the Miami Heat, was a member of that All-Star team as well.

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All-Star Update: Warriors duo in top-10 of Western Conference voting

Regardless of record, the Warriors fanbase is still “dubbing the vote,” landing both Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell in the top-10 of Western Conference voting.

While the wins may not be rolling in at a rate Golden State Warriors fans are used to, “Dub Nation” is still showing up when it comes to All-Star voting. In the latest NBA All-Star voting update, the Warriors had two guards rank in the top-10 in Western Conference voting.

Both Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell were named in the top-10 in the second round of the Western Conference guard voting. Both guards were called to the top-10 when the first round was announced on January 2.

Curry, who’s only played four games all season ranked fourth behind Luka Doncic (Mavericks), James Harden (Rockets) and Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) with 595, 913 votes. Curry’s broken hand will take him out of All-Star consideration. However, he is progressing through his injury, entering the shooting stages.

After Curry, the order proceeds with Russell Westbrook (Rockets), Alex Caruso (Lakers), Donovan Mitchell (Utah) and Devin Booker (Suns). Following Booker, is the Warriors’ second representative, Russell.

Russell ranks sixth in the standings with 365,730 fan votes. Memphis Grizzlies rookie, Ja Morant rounds out the top-10 in Western Conference voting.

Russell has played well when healthy but has dealt with injuries to start the 2020 new year. Prior to missing six straight games, Russell was playing at a level worthy of an All-Star nod. The 23-year-old scored 30 or more points in three of his last four games before the injury.

The Ohio State product returned from his shoulder when the Warriors went to Memphis for his first game in the new 2020 decade, just in time to receive more All-Star votes. NBA All-Star voting closes on January 20, with starters announced Thursday, January 23.