At this point, there is no Victor Wembanyama in this season's NBA rookie class. There is no Paolo Banchero. And there's no Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin,
Tom Thibodeau noted last week the tough process for NBA coaches to select only seven All-Star reserves in each conference, but first-time starter Karl-Anthony Towns attempted to make a case for do-it-all teammate Josh Hart to be included when rosters are announced Thursday night.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were both named Eastern ... because Brunson lost the 2024 All-Star starter spot to Damian Lillard last season due to an insurmountable discrepancy in fan ...
For the second time in his career Damian Lillard comes to Portland as a member of the road team on Tuesday, Jan. 28 when the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore.
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle were named All-Star reserves last season, but Randle didn't participate because of his dislocated shoulder. Brunson should've been named a starter over Damian Lillard, but the fan votes swayed in the latter's favor.
So some like Alperen Sengun, Domantas Sabonis and Jaren Jackson might get reserve spots. But the real tough decision is measuring Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Anthony Davis against Victor Wembanyama. I’ll go with Durant and LeBron this time — and assume the other two will be in the game.
As for Brunson, the Villanova product is within 27,000 tallies of overtaking reigning All-Star Game MVP Damian Lillard (Bucks). Having upped his distribution this year, Brunson’s career-high 7.5 assists per game, in conjunction with his 26 PPG and clutch play makes him one of the more exciting players to watch in the league.