NBA All-Star Game 2018-19: 3 Biggest Surprises

The NBA All Star game for the 2018-19 season is getting closer and closer. This will be the 68th edition of the All Star match and will be played on February 17, 2019, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Just like last year, this year too will not feature a East vs West format, but instead the rosters are selected through a voting process.

The starters were chosen by the fans, media, and current NBA players. Fans made up 50% of the vote, and NBA players and media each comprised 25% of the vote. The two guards and three frontcourt players who received the highest cumulative vote totals were named the All-Star starters.

NBA head coaches will vote for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which can be players from their own team. Each coach selects two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category.

The leading vote-getters are then announced the captains of the opposing teams. This season, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James had the highest votes in their conferences and are the captains.

The All Stars are as follows:

Eastern Conference All Star Starters: Kemba Walker (G), Kyrie Irving (G), Kawhi Leonard (F), Giannis Antetokounmpo (F), Joel Embiid (C).

Eastern Conference All Star Reserves: Kyle Lowry (G), Victor Oladipo, replaced by D'Angelo Russell (G), Bradley Beal (G), Ben Simmons (G), Khris Middleton (F), Blake Griffin (F), Nikola Vucevic (C). Dwayne Wade (G) is a special roster addition as it is his final season and due to his contribution to the game, will be a third round pick.

Western Conference All Star Starters: Stephen Curry (G), James Harden (G), LeBron James (F), Kevin Durant (F), Paul George (F).

Western Conference All Star Reserves: Russell Westbrook (G), Damian Lillard (G), Klay Thompson (G), Anthony Davis (F), LaMarcus Aldridge (F), Nikola Jokic (C), Karl-Anthony Towns (C). Dirk Nowitzki (F) is a special roster addition as it is his final season and due to his contribution to the game, will be a third round pick.

The draft will take place on February 7th 2019. James will have the first pick in the first round and the third round in the draft for receiving the most votes overall, while Antetokounmpo has the first pick in the second round of the draft. The draft pool consisted of the eight other starters, with no regard to conference designation, and 14 reserves.

Now, let us look at the 3 biggest surprises in the All Star game this year.

#3 Special Roster Additions: One last dance for Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki

Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki go at it, one more time

NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that icons Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki will get one last moment of All-Star Game glory and each will be a special roster addition. The two will be chosen in a special third round of the All-Star draft to honour all they have done for the NBA. This season is the last one for Wade, having announced it before the season had began, while Nowitzki is yet to publicly state that this is his last season.

This season, the 40-year-old German is coming off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks and is averaging career lows of 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. Dwayne Wade, 37, is averaging 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game as he continues to contribute for the Heat as a reserve. The two have twice faced off in the NBA Finals, with Wade's Heat winning in 2006 and Nowitzki's Mavericks claiming the title in 2011.

LeBron James has the top pick in the third round, which will be the one that includes Nowitzki and Wade, who has been a long time friend and confidante to LeBron James. This was a really big surprise that the NBA commissioner dropped on all of the NBA community and it is a superb gesture to honour 2 of the biggest stars in the NBA history.

#2 None of the Utah Jazz players make it to the All Star Game

Utah Jazz surprisingly do not make it to the All Star Game

The Utah Jazz had a really tough schedule to start their season, going 18-19 to end 2018, but since then have lit the NBA on fire, going 12-5 in the month of January, led by some super scoring from Donovan Mitchell. Even though Mitchell has been on and off as a shooter, the one player who is holding them all together has been Rudy Gobert, who was considered to be a lock to make it to the reserves list in the Western Conference All Stars.

Both Utah’s system and the league’s standards as a whole have forced him to hone his abilities defending out on the perimeter, and it’s looked better than ever before. Gobert is a defensive superstar who is still learning what he is capable of.

In the 54 games this season, Gobert has been superb, averaging 15.1 points per game, along with 12.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game too. He was always an amazing rim protector, but teams took advantage of him on the perimeter. This season, he has been superb at the perimeter too and has averaged 2.2 blocks per game, along with 0.9 steals.

His exclusion from the All Star game has come under heavy criticism and has been a huge surprise to most fans, players and coaches alike.

#1 Exclusion of Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic could not make it to the All Star Game this season

Luka Doncic has exceeded every possible expectation there was from him, has overcome his biggest critics, and been a huge boost to the Mavericks franchise, who seem to have found their cornerstone. If he had made the All Star game, he would’ve been the first rookie selection since Blake Griffin.

Doncic has been dazzling the league for the whole season with his trademark step-backs, whirling behind-the-back dribbles and unbelievable circus shots. The third-overall pick in the 2018 draft is in the top five among rookies in almost every statistical offensive category. He has registered 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game and is widely considered to be the front runner for the Rookie of the Year award.

The Dallas Mavericks are just 23-27 but are much improved this season, and Luka Doncic is the main reason why, and he perhaps deserved an All Star call-up.