I’m going to keep this intro short, mainly just want to go over how I pick who makes my All-star teams. First thing is that if a player is on a team that truly stinks, they don’t make my All-star team. I don’t care if they are averaging a triple double, winning matters. I’m not saying you need to be on one of the top teams, but your team has to be decent. I also take into consideration what a player is tasked to do on a night-to-night basis. There might be players that put up good stats as a 2nd or 3rd option, but since they aren’t asked to do as much, I might lean towards someone who has to be a number 1 option for their team. I also consider injuries when creating my team. While there can be exceptions, for the most part, I require every player to have played in at least 30 games at this point of the year. Also, if a player is not healthy currently and doesn’t appear to have a shot at getting healthy within the next couple of weeks, I left them off the team. Finally, and this is important, this is my All-star team. There are many like it but this one is mine. Essentially, if you have a problem with who starts or who was left off, I DON’T CARE *Earl Sweatshirt voice*. Ground rules have been laid down, let’s get into my All-Star starters.

West Starters

Nikola Jokic (7th Selection, 5th Time Starting)

Jokic is having yet another all time offensive season, dissecting defenses while walking and looking sluggish. He leads the NBA in 3 point percentage and triple double, and even more impressively, has made Russell Westbrook look like an impact player again! Easy choice to add him here, the real question is are the Nuggets a sleeping giant out in the West?

Victor Wembanyama (1st Selection, 1st Time Starter)

The Alien is such a good nickname for him, because he truly does play the game like he’s from another planet. His wingspan makes defenses have to completely rethink how they want to approach playing offense. He leads the league in blocks and also the amount of times he stops a fast break by himself. Okay I didn’t pull the data for that last one, but it’s probably true. On offense, I would still like to see him take less 3s. Other than that, he is so fun to watch, as he can create at all 3 levels but is just another level of dominant in the paint. First time making All-Star and he’s a starter in year 2, how’s that for living up to the hype?

Lebron James (21st Selection, 21st Time Starting)

Speaking of living up to the hype, there has never been a better example of that than Lebron James. Deemed “The Chosen One” coming into the league, he has surpassed even the most hot take expectations off him from back then. Now in year 22, he finds himself still playing like a top 15 player in the NBA. While the Lakers chances look shaky at best, it isn’t because of the downfall of the king. 21st time being in and starting the All-Star game, don’t take it for granted folks.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (3rd Selection, 2nd Time Starting)

The current favorite for MVP, he is the best player on the best team in the West, so he had to be here. He is the most consistent scorer in the league today, able to get to his spots every single night. He is currently shooting 60% on 2-point shots, something that is typically only seen among centers who take mostly layups and dunks. Shai appears to only be getting better, something that should terrify the rest of the league.

Stephen Curry (10th Selection, 9th Time Starting)

For me, he and Lebron are going to start the All-Star game until they don’t make the team. Some of my bench guards probably have better stats than Curry, but it was very close for me so I gave Steph the nod. The Warriors 2nd leading scorer only averages 16.8 per game, so he gets tasked with the harder offensive role than some of the other guards I thought of. The Warriors live and die on Steph Curry, and at 36, he is still finding a way to deliver.

Reserves

Anthony Edwards (3rd Selection)

Ant-Man is my 1st guard off the bench, as he is still a top 5 most exciting player in the league to me.  The team may have fallen off, but that is mainly because of Randle not living up to the hype. Edwards is shooting a career high in shot attempts, making 4.2 3s per game on his way to leading the league in 3s made, and is still playing really good defense on a night-to-night basis. They’ll never make me hate you Ant-Man.

Kyrie Irving (9th Selection)

The Kyrie Irving redemption arc has been remarkable. Just a couple of years ago, he was missing a lot of games due to off the court issues, and now he is the perfect example of a veteran leader that you would want for your young team. Despite Luka only playing in 22 games, the reason I don’t have him on the team, the Mavericks are still 23-20 and competitive in every single game. He currently has a career high in 3-point percentage while putting up 24 a night, so I had to give him the nod over 2 guards lower in the standings than him.

Kevin Durant (12th Selection)

I thought about starting Durant over Wembanyama, but their record is relatively close to the Spurs and Wemby is the more exciting player currently. Kevin Durant is a top 5 offensive player the game has ever seen, and for my money is the best scorer of my lifetime. He is 36 years old still averaging 27 a game, round of applause for the Slim Reaper.

Anthony Davis (8th Selection)

The toughest part of picking the West reserves was deciding if the Suns and Lakers were worthy of 2 All-Stars. To me, the 2nd players are so talented that it would just feel very weird if I left them off the team, so they both did. For Davis, while he has cooled down since his MVP level start the first 15 games or so, he is still having another excellent year on both sides of the ball for a Lakers team that is a 6th seed currently, so I ended up giving him the spot here.

Alperen Sengun (1st Selection)

I want to get 1 more big man on the team and was deciding between Sengun, Jaren Jackson, or Domantas Sabonis. I ultimately went with Sengun because he is the offensive hub for the 2nd best team in the West and has put in a real effort to play better defense this year. He will never be able to block shots at an elite level, but he always seems to find himself in the right spot when playing help defense. It was tough to leave off JJJ and Sabonis, but ultimately, I felt like Sengun was deserving of getting his 1st All-Star nod.

Devin Booker (4th Selection)

The other sun I was referring to, he has been really good for the Suns. He proved that last year’s uptick in assists was no fluke, still creating shot’s for others on a nightly basis. The Suns will need to make a Beal and/or Nurkic deal if they are to contend this year, but a Devin Booker led team is not one I would want to count out.

De’Aaron Fox (2nd Selection)

Fox got my last All-Star spot, but it was super close between him and Jalen Williams for me. Ultimately I chose Fox because he is the engine of the Kings’ offense, while Williams is not as essential to the offense of OKC. He is a superior defensive player, but Fox is better at creating for others. He also seems to play his best late in games, which is the type of competitive streak that I would want to see in the All-Star game. Jalen Williams will have his day, but Fox gets my final spot out West.

West Honorable Mentions

Jaren Jackson Jr.

I really thought about putting JJJ over Sengun but ultimately went with Sengun due to his team having a better record and him being asked to create for others while having to finish at the basket just as much as Jackson, He is also a much better rebounder, which is something that I have always despised about Jackson. Still, he has been super aggressive in getting to the basket this year and has done a good job of holding down the offense in games where Ja is out. I will also say Ja did not make it due to him not having played enough games.

Domantas Sabonis

Sabonis was also tough to lead off, but I saw him go head-to-head with Sengun last week and foul out of the game. He is one of the best offensive players in the league, but is just a total negative on the defensive end. He also doesn’t have the juice so to speak, so if I am going to add a player with very little motion, it was always going to be the starting center on the 2nd best team in the West instead of the one on the 8th. Sabonis is really good but doesn’t quite get in this year.

Jalen Williams

This was the toughest player to leave off, but ultimately this is what I decided. While he is the 2nd best player on the best team in the Western conference, he isn’t asked to do nearly as much on offense as the other guys who made it in front of him. Will this likely prevent him from making my personal All-Star team every year? Yes, unfortunately for him it will. Fortunately for him though, he probably doesn’t give a shit about making the Coast2CoastCoop All-Star team, and I think he actually has a high likelihood of making the real team.

Norman Powell

A little preview of tomorrow’s post, but Norman Powell is my Most Improved Player through the 1st half of the season. For him to have a career year in his age 31 season is shocking, but the talent has always been there to me. I don’t want to dive too deep into it here since I’ll be writing more about him tomorrow, but I have been very impressed with the season that he has been having.

James Harden

Speaking of the Clippers, James Harden just narrowly misses my team. While he is the offensive hub for a team that is 5th in the West, the offense is not the main reason the Clippers are that good. The Clipper’s defense has been outstanding this year, and Harden doesn’t contribute on that side of the ball quite as much. Still, it has been a very impressive season from James Harden and I hope we can finally get a healthy Kawhi playoff run, because this team has tough first round matchup written all over them.

Jalen Green

Jalen Green feels like he has taken a step up this year, especially the last 10 games or so. He is finally starting to play like the player the Rockets drafted at 2nd overall in 2021. While he hasn’t quite been All-Star good this year, he has played well enough that I would be very hesitant to include him in any trade package for Kevin Durant or Devin Booker, should those opportunities present itself before the trade deadline or in the off-season.

East Starters

Giannis Antetokounmpo (9th Selection, 9th Time Starting)

Giannis is the best player in the East, and has somehow gotten even better. He has damn near eliminated the 3-point shot from his shot diet, instead opting to take more mid-ranges. He has been knocking them down at a shocking rate, specifically when he is on the left side of the floor. He is shooting 52% on shots 8-16 feet, a career high for him. It explains why he is also averaging a career-high in points, something that should make the Bucks want to go all in on a move to win this year.

Karl-Anthony Towns (5th Selection, 1st Time Starting)

I’ll say this: I still think that KAT is going to disappoint the Knicks in the playoffs. But man, when I said the Timberwolves won the Randle-Towns trade, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Towns has arguably been better than Brunson this year, He is 2nd in the league in rebounds per game and is playing well enough on defense, as the Knicks have been league average on that end of the floor so far. I would have never predicted him being an All-Star starter this year, so shoutout to the Big Purr!

Jayson Tatum (6th Selection, 5th Time Starting)

Tatum seems to get talked about a lot for a guy with no “energy” or “aura”. I think the Tatum hate gets to be a bit much sometimes, as he is one of the league’s most selfless superstars in my opinion. He is currently averaging a career high in assists and rebounds, while his 3 point shot appears to be back to normal after disappearing during the playoffs last year. Tatum is the definition of a winning player, which is why he gets to be an All-Star starter.

Donovan Mitchell (5th Selection, 2nd Time Starting)

Similar to the SGA argument, Mitchell is the best player on the Eastern Conference’s best team. He is taking the least number of shots and averaging the lowest amount in points per game since his rookie season yet has upped his 3-point percentage and lowered his turnovers. What does this mean? It means he has bought into playing more off the ball than ever before, clocking in the lowest usage percentage since he was a rookie. Part of the reason why the Cavs have been so good is the jumps from Mobley and Garland, and Mitchell taking a step back has been essential to the team reaching this ceiling. The Cavs are currently my favorite to come out of the East, so Mitchell had to be an All-Star starter.

Cade Cunningham (1st Selection, 1st Time Starting)

This last backcourt starter came down to Brunson, Lillard, and Cunnigham. I ultimately went with Cuningham because he is a borderline top 10 player in the league right now. While some could point to his record for why he should come off the bench, I would point to it for why he should start. The Pistons were freaking awful last year, and the fact that they are over .500 with a chance to make the playoffs is legit insane. His counting stats are bananas and he passes the eye test also, able to get pretty much whatever look he wants on offense, whether for himself or a teammate. Defenders are unable to speed Cade up, and he is just so skilled and so smart that he usually ends up getting your team a quality shot. I’ve seen people compare him to Brandon Roy, but to me he has been closer to Luka this season. He plays at his pace and has upped his level as a scorer, which is why I chose him for the last starter spot.

Reserves

Jalen Brunson (2nd Selection)

The 2 guards I considered starting obviously will get my first spots off the bench. Brunsons has had another  excellent season, using a series of pivots and misdirections to score in the clutch moments of every Knicks game. While KAT has had the better season, there is no doubt who takes this team home in the 4th quarters. Brunson is also averaging a career high in assists, which has to be credited to the improved starting lineup. This dude is a dog and had to be my 1st guard off the bench.

Damian Lillard (8th Selection)

Even though the stats have looked very close to last years, anybody that has watched a lot of Bucks basketball can tell you that he is much closer to Portland Dame this year. The confidence and moxie appears to be back, hitting clutch shots for this Bucks team that really needs his late game offense. Him and Giannis appear to be more used to playing with each other, which is why they are still capable of beating any team in a 7-game series.

Evan Mobley (1st Selection)

As a big Mobley fan, I had to make him my first big off the bench. He will likely finish top 3 yet again in defensive player of the year voting, still showing off that versatility and shot blocking that made him such an excellent player the past few years. The difference this year has been his offense, becoming a much improved shooter despite taking more jumpers than ever. He also has been allowed to push the ball more in transition, something that has led to some monster highlights. While I am super impressed with the progress this year, I still think he can get even better. This should be the 1st of many All-Star appearances for Mobley.

Jaylen Brown (4th Selection)

While his 3 point shot has taken a bit of a dip this year, he is averaging a career high in assists, using his ability to get downhill to create open 3s for his teammates. He is still an absolute menace on defense as well, currently averaging a career high in steals. He is versatile and like Tatum, plays the game selflessly. While the Cavs are my current East favorites, Tatum and Brown are the biggest reason that you can never count out Boston.

Pascal Siakam (3rd Selection)

My last frontcourt spot was a pretty easy choice. While I would love to tell you that I seriously considered Jalen Johnson or Nikola Vuceviuc to make the All-Star team, it would have been a disingenuous take for the basketball nerds and hipsters. Pascal is shooting the 3-ball better than he ever has, and is still finishing around the rim at an elite level. He creates good shots for others when he has to, but on this Pacers team he doesn’t have to do it as often as he did in Toronto. The veteran for a team that is creeping up the Eastern standings, he had to get the last frontcourt nod to me.

Darius Garland (2nd Selection)

I was really debating giving Tyler Herro this spot instead. Ultimately, I went with Garland because of how well his team has played and the fact that he is more efficient than he ever has been. Mitchell has let Garland play more point guard this year, and I think it’s a big reason why the Cavs have had the best offense in the league this season.

Trae Young (4th Selection)

Trae Young gets my other wildcard spot for a lot of reasons. For starters, I just think that it’s insane that he only has 3 All-Star appearances considering that he plays in the East. In terms of on the court impact, while his shooting is down, his playmaking both on and off the ball has been incredible. He is averaging a career high in assists and has been playing off ball even more than the Dejounte years, currently tying his career low in usage with his rookie season. While the Hawks overall record is not great, they have consistently beat the best teams in the East this year, so I chose him to the final All-Star spot.

East Honorable Mentions

Zach Lavine

Zach Lavine has been on fire to start January, scoring more 30-point games (7) than any other player in the league. The dude is clearly trying to get a winning team to trade for him, playing his best basketball as we get close to the February 7th trade deadline. Unfortunately, the Bulls record has been below .500 all year, so I just couldn’t add him to the team. Still, an impressive season for Lavine considering nobody wanted to trade for him during the off-season.

Tyler Herro

Almost added him on, but ultimately the guards ahead of him had slightly more compelling cases. Herro is having a career year, Averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists per game on a career best efficiency. I thought Bam would step up to be a 25 PPG scorer this year, and god has he disappointed. But Herror has taken that opportunity from Bam, becoming the best player on this Heat team and making me very interested in what the Heat can do with Jimmy Butler through trade. I think that Herro and Bam as your best 2 players likely has its ceiling, but if you can get the right role players in, I wouldn’t put it past the Heat to go on another unexpected run.

Tyrese Haliburton

Tyrese has been better the last 15 games or so, but still did struggle mightily to start the season. He has looked more like his All-Star self as of late, but this is for the whole body of work, so he narrowly misses here. I would like to shoutout his defense though, which he appears to be giving more effort on that end of the floor so far this season.

Nikola Vucevic

Vuc suffers from the same thing as Lavine, the fact that his Bulls just aren’t that good of a team. However I will say, I thought this guy was dead. The 3-point shot had fallen off, and he just looked like a bit of a dinosaur out there. His shot is completely back this year, up to 41%, and he looks more engaged than he did last season. Shoutout Vucci Mane, who is having an outstanding year despite not getting selected here.

Jalen Johnson

Jalen Johnson is having another great season , proving that last year was no fluke. He is averaging a career high in points, rebounds, and assists this year, a trend that the Hawks have to be just gushing over. Considering he was the 20th pick in the draft in 2021, for him to be even in the All-Star conversation is a massive win for Atlanta.

LaMelo Ball

I’m only adding him to honorable mentions because there is a legit chance he starts the All-Star game due to dominating the fan vote, but here is why the fans are wrong: HIS TEAM STINKS. If they want to put him on the team as a backup, okay maybe. But the fact that he may start over the guards I put on the team is objectively insane. He is a super fun player, there is no doubt about that. It seems like every time the Hornets play I get a LaMelo highlight on my feed. But his team is a bottom 5 team in the league and his efficiency is really rough. I think there is a winning player somewhere in LaMelo, but he needs a hard-ass coach who will force all of the empty calories out of his game and replace it with more winning plays.