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2019 All-Star Reserve Selections

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The Starters were announced a week ago. Tonight, it was the reserves turn. The following players will travel to Charlotte to participate in the NBA All-Star Game on February 17 at 8pm as reserves:

 

East Reserves 

Victor Oladipo (2nd selection)

18.8 PPG, 5.2 APG, 5.6 RPG

Oladipo is averaging career-highs in assists and rebounds, while helping guide the Pacers to a 32-15 start before he ruptured his right quadricep tendon (out for year). Indiana appears to be struggling without him, losing three straight since his injury. He will be replaced by the Nets’ D’Angelo Russell.

D’Angelo Russell (1st selection)
19.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.8 RPG

Russell is averaging career-highs in points, assists, field-goal percentage, and three-point percentage. The backcourt duo of him and Spencer Dinwiddie has helped propel the Nets into the playoff picture, currently sitting at 28-25 and 6th in the Eastern Conference.

Kyle Lowry (5th selection)

14.2 PPG, 9.4 APG, 4.5 RPG

This is Lowry’s third straight selection. Although his scoring and overall shooting is down, he is averaging a career-high in assists, much to the credit of the acquisitions of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The emerging talent of Pascal Siakam has contributed to the boost as well.

Blake Griffin (6th selection)

26.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, 8.1 RPG

This is the first time since 2015 that Griffin has been selected to an All-Star roster. He is averaging a career-high in points, while shooting and making more threes than in any other season. After a year where it appeared the NBA may have forgotten about the former rookie of the year, he’s making sure everyone knows that he hasn’t lost a step.

With Luka Doncic neither been selected as starter – he ranked 3rd in the fan voting, but only 20th in the player voting and 18th in the media voting – nor as a reserve, Blake Griffin is still the last rookie to make it to the NBA All-Star Game. He played in 2011 in Los Angeles in the Team West.

Khris Middleton (1st selection)

17.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, 5.7 RPG

Many felt he was snubbed last year after averaging 20.1 PPG, but with the Bucks success this season, his first career selection was hard to deny. He is making a career-high 2.1 three pointers per game this season. This marks the first time since the 2000-2001 All-Star game that multiple Bucks have been selected, when Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson were chosen.

Ben Simmons (1st selection)

16.7 PPG, 8.2 APG, 9.5 RPG

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Simmons is averaging career-highs in everything but blocks. He is tied for second in the NBA with 8 triple-doubles. The 6′ 10″ point guard has led the Sixers to a 33-18 start, and with Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler at his side, the sky is the limit this season. This is the first time since the 2001-2002 All-Star game where two Sixers have been selected, when Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo participated. Simmons will also play in the Team USA vs Team World game.

Bradley Beal (2nd selection)

24.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 5.1 RPG

Beal is having a career year, largely due to John Wall’s season-ending surgery. The three stats listed above are all career-highs. Although they are seven games below .500, he has single handedly kept the Wizards in the playoff hunt so far, currently sitting two and a half games back of 8th place.

Nikola Vucevic (1st selection)

20.7 PPG, 3.8 APG, 12 RPG

This year, Vucevic took the leap from consistently solid starter to borderline star. He is averaging career-highs in points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and is shooting the three-ball better than he ever has. The combination of him and Aaron Gordon down low, along with Evan Fournier on the wings would lead most to expect a low-seeded playoff team. Unfortunately that has not been the case, leading many to believe Vucevic will look elsewhere in free agency this summer.

Nikola Vucevic (MNE) is the 21st international player to be selected to the NBA All-Star Game.

 

West Reserves

Russell Westbrook (8th selection)

21.7 PPG, 10.8 APG, 10.9 RPG

Westbrook is averaging a triple-double for his third year in a row. Although he is shooting a putrid 25% from three and 41% from the field (only his rookie year was worse), he still contributes on both ends of the floor with energy and production. The idea of Westbrook averaging a triple-double has become an afterthought for many because of the absurd consistency of it, but it is still unmatched and incredible.

Anthony Davis (6th selection)

29.3 PPG, 4.4 APG, 13.3 RPG

Davis has earned his 6th selection in seven years, the only year he wasn’t selected being his rookie year. After a trade request by him recently went public, there have been rumors swirling about packages to get him to LA to play alongside LeBron. The asking price is practically unimaginable for the 7-footer averaging career-highs in points, assists and rebounds. Most would argue he has cemented himself as a top-5 player in the league because of pure consistency, only scoring less than 20 points five times this season.

Nikola Jokic (1st selection)

20.1 PPG, 7.7 APG. 10.4 RPG

Jokic has stepped into the MVP race this season, but James Harden’s play has all but won it for him so far. The 7-foot Serbian is tied for second in the league with 8 triple-doubles, and is sixth in the league in win shares. His play has the Nuggets at 35-15 and 2nd in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokic becomes the 22nd international player to be featured in the NBA All-Star Game. With the selection of Vucevic and Jokic as reserves, Joel Embiid as starter, and the “Greak Freak” Giannis as Team Captain, 2019 can be considered a successful All-Star year for the international players in the NBA. Ben Simmons has US citizenship and is not considered an “international player”.

Damian Lillard (4th selection)

26.4 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.6 RPG

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Lillard’s leadership over the past seven years has been unmatched. He transformed the franchise and gave them hope that they had not felt in some time. He has not had much success in the playoffs, largely because of a lack of talent around him. Last year, his All-NBA First Team selection was too much in many people’s eyes, but he continues to prove himself time and time again. He has led the Trailblazers to a 32-20 record and 4th in the Western Conference. Lillard will also participate in the three-point contest on Saturday night.

Klay Thompson (5th selection)

21.7 PPG, 2.0 APG, 4.0 RPG

Thompson has played the same role in the Warriors system for the last few years, but he continues to improve in every aspect, especially his inside game and defense. When he’s on, there’s no one that can stop him. There are rumors about the Lakers being a potential landing spot next year if the Warriors do not offer him a max deal, but knowing how tightly knitted Golden State’s core is, it is unlikely that he leaves.

LaMarcus Aldridge (7th selection)

21.1 PPG, 2.6 APG, 8.8 RPG

Aldridge deserves much of the credit for the Spurs record (30-22), particularly with DeMar Derozan’s recent struggles. He has come up big in big time games, including a career-high 56 points in a triple overtime win against the Thunder. He was one of the more questionable selections, with Tobias Harris and Luka Doncic being left off the rosters, but when it comes to playoffs the Spurs would most likely be on the outside looking in without Aldridge.

Karl-Anthony Towns (2nd selection)

22.6 PPG, 3.1 APG, 12.1 RPG

The Timberwolves are a game below .500, but could be much worse without the play of Towns. After the Jimmy Butler fiasco, it was widely believed that the T-Wolves would be an absolute disaster. Luckily, the growth of Andrew Wiggins, Towns, and the resurgence of Derrick Rose has Minnesota in the playoff hunt.

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Special Selections

Dirk Nowitzki (14th selection)
Career: 21 PPG, 2.4 APG, 7.6 RPG

Nowitzki has been selected as a special selection in his 20th season, which will most likely be his last. He will also be participating in the Three-Point Competition. The German legend has only played in 20 games this year, but with an expected retirement, the NBA wanted to send him to Charlotte to give him one last All-Star experience.

Dwyane Wade (13th selection)
Career: 22.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.7 RPG

Wade has not had a bad year by any means, averaging 13.8 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.7 RPG, but it was not enough to get him in the normal selections. After announcing his upcoming retirement, the Heat legend was chosen by the NBA to participate in the All-Star game one last time, just like Nowitzki.

As the 2019 team captains, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lebron James will each draft one player after the other in the NBA All-Star draft, which will be televised live on TNT on February 7. Want to have an idea of what the teams are going to look like? Check out the mock draft in the Washington Post. Stay tuned for more news about the NBA All-Star Event 2019 in Charlotte.

Jackson Goldman

Jackson