Washington point guard John Wall is among the 14 reserves selected (Getty)
Thursday night the reserves for the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams were announced. As opposed to the starting lineups, which are determined by fan, player and media voting, the NBA’s coaches determine the seven reserves for each team. The starting lineups for the 66th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played Sunday, February 19 in New Orleans, were announced last Thursday.
Among the players named All-Star reserves is Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook, who to the surprise of many was not named a starter. Westbrook, who lost a three-way voting tiebreaker with Houston’s James Harden and Golden State’s Stephen Curry, is averaging a triple-double with Oscar Robertson being the only other player in league history to do so for a season.
Westbrook was joined by Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, giving the Warriors a league-high four All-Star picks (Curry and Kevin Durant are starters). Golden State will also be represented by head coach Steve Kerr, who will be the head coach of the Western Conference All-Star team. Cleveland is next in line with three All-Stars, as Kevin Love joins starters Kyrie Irving and LeBron James on the Eastern Conference roster.
Of the 14 reserves, three will make their first-ever All-Star Game appearance next month: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, Jazz forward Gordon Hayward and Hornets guard Kemba Walker.
Below are the 14 reserves who will make the trip to New Orleans, with Philadelphia rookie center Joel Embiid failing to make the cut.
Western Conference Reserves
G Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City)
G Klay Thompson (Golden State)
F Draymond Green (Golden State)
F Gordon Hayward (Utah)
C DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento)
C Marc Gasol (Memphis)
C DeAndre Jordan (L.A. Clippers)
Eastern Conference Reserves
G Isaiah Thomas (Boston)
G John Wall (Washington)
G Kyle Lowry (Toronto)
G Kemba Walker (Charlotte)
F Paul George (Indiana)
F Kevin Love (Cleveland)
F Paul Millsap (Atlanta)
