NBA All-Star debate: Big questions surrounding 2020 All-Star starters
Who should be the No. 1 overall pick? Which players are our panel most excited to see team up Feb. 16 inside the United Center? How should the league tweak the selection process?
Let’s dive in.
MORE: Everything to know for NBA All-Star 2020
Bobby Marks: The No. 1 choice is all about Luka Doncic. While the Dallas Mavericks guard missed out on being selected as captain, falling short by just more than 160,000 votes, Doncic should be the clear choice by James when the teams are selected on Feb. 6. If he isn’t, the only logical choice would be for James to pick his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis.
Kevin Pelton: With depth at every position, there’s no obvious need to fill immediately. I might be inclined to take Kawhi Leonard, the best perimeter defender of this group, but I don’t think James will hurt his team at all if he feels compelled to take Lakers teammate Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick.
Jorge Sedano: This one is easy: Luka Doncic should be the first pick in the draft. He’s an MVP candidate and is averaging 29.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists for the Dallas Mavericks this season. Doncic has 10 30-point triple-doubles, already as many as James (five), Oscar Robertson (three) and Magic Johnson (two) combined before turning 22 years old.
Eric Woodyard: Anthony Davis should be the No. 1 pick. He’s coming home to Chicago, so I’m sure that’ll be some extra motivation to show out for family and friends. Also, don’t forget that AD still holds the All-Star record for most points in a game with 52 as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans inside Smoothie King Center, where he won MVP. He’s more than capable of going off again.
Royce Young: It’s pretty easy to guess that Anthony Davis will be pick No. 1. But both Luka Doncic and Trae Young could be fantastic All-Star Game players. Doncic is a matchup nightmare, an isolation monster and a solid shooter. Young is a magician passer with range to 40 feet. And remember, defense doesn’t matter in the All-Star Game.
Pelton: Pascal Siakam. This doesn’t always happen, but I agree with Charles Barkley: Jimmy Butler deserved to start. Among East players, only Antetokounmpo has been more valuable by my wins above replacement player (WARP) metric. Same with FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR ratings. To me, Butler was an easy choice, and Siakam got his spot.
Young: Pascal Siakam. It certainly feels wrong that Jimmy Butler isn’t a starter after the first half the Miami Heat have had. Siakam is well-deserving, but he also has missed a couple of weeks due to injury. Flipping Butler for him makes some sense.
Woodyard: Trae Young. This is no knock on Young because I love his game, but I could see how Atlanta’s 11-34 record could raise concern. I have no problem seeing “Ice Trae” represent the Eastern Conference as a starter where, outside of the top teams, there are a bunch that really aren’t very good. Why not bring some excitement?
Sedano: Trae Young. I’m OK with him being an All-Star. He’s as exciting a player to watch as there is in the game. However, the Hawks are the worst team in the Eastern Conference. I get this is a glorified pick-up game, but winning has to matter a little. I take exception with Jimmy Butler being labeled a frontcourt player — he deserves to be a starter. He’s the most important player on a Miami Heat team that’s the biggest surprise in the East.
Marks: Kawhi Leonard. Despite All-NBA credentials for when he is on the court, Leonard is my pick. The reason? The popular term load management (or injury prevention) that hovers around him for each game. Leonard has missed 11 games this season and is on pace to appear in only 60.
Pelton: Luka Doncic and Trae Young have been compared since they were traded for each other on draft night in 2018, so it would be nice to see them on the same side of things for once.
Young: Doncic and Young together would be really fun. That’s a storyline that’s always going to be interesting, but we’ve seen them against each other before. How about on the same side? Or James picking Young and Doncic, assembling an All-World passing and ballhandling team that would just be nonstop nutmegs and no-looks.
Woodyard: I’m looking forward to the potential of Trae Young and LeBron James joining forces as the perfect mix of old and new. Plus, they’re two of the best passers in the league, so I could see some great dimes being thrown. It’s always fun to watch the new evolution of stars and how they’re able to arrive on that All-Star stage. I’m sure James would welcome Young with open arms.
Marks: As a tribute following the recent death of David Stern, who turned the NBA into the global behemoth it is today, let’s see the All-World frontcourt of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pascal Siakam and Joel Embiid. The pool of players might not be big enough yet to go the full USA vs. the World route, but putting those three together would show how much this game has grown internationally.
Sedano: Because of all the drama the two L.A. teams have caused at the beginning of the season, I would love to see the All-L.A. quartet of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Considering how much those two fan bases dislike each other, it would be a pretty funny sight. And maybe even an unstoppable one.
Young: Doing the draft right before the game, playground style, would be pretty awesome. It would take some adjusting in terms of logistics, but it could easily be done. Picture James and Antetokounmpo at midcourt, picking players one by one, until one is standing there all by himself as the last choice. It would be fantastic.
Pelton: Stop using conferences and pick the best players regardless of where they play, as we’ve seen the WNBA do since moving to drafted teams for its All-Star Game. That’s not as big of an issue this season, with the gulf between the West and the East narrowing, but I still don’t understand the point of choosing by conference if they are no longer playing each other.
Woodyard: If you glance at where basketball is headed, it would be a no-brainer to make the All-Star Game positionless — why not? Without limiting the selections to frontcourt or backcourt, it would put the most exciting players in the league at center stage. Currently, I have no issue with the voting and selection process, but this move would shake things up. I’m all for it.
Sedano: We play in an era of positionless basketball. Why are we even still using frontcourt and backcourt designations? Give me the best five on each side.
Marks: Nothing. Yes, the optics don’t look great when Tacko Fall and Alex Caruso are in the top 10 in fan voting, but remember, this game is just an exhibition. Though neither player was selected when you combine the media and player voting, let the fans continue to be part of the process.
Pelton: Zion Williamson. I don’t know who exactly he’s going to displace in a loaded West frontcourt, but the examples of Doncic and Young show how quickly a thrilling young player can become one of the leading fan vote-getters. If Williamson takes a step forward next season, it’s realistic for him to join them as a starter … or even as captain.
Young: Zion Williamson. It’s tough to imagine this could be anyone other than him. With the fan vote still holding a 50% presence, and the expectation only being furthered by his debut that Williamson is headed for something great, he’s pretty much the perfect All-Star starter.
Marks: Devin Booker. We still don’t know if Booker will even be selected as a reserve, but the Phoenix Suns shooting guard has played this season as if he deserves a starting role in Chicago, averaging 26.5 points on 50% shooting with 6.3 rebounds. The challenge comes with how Booker can overcome these two roadblocks: a stacked guard field in the Western Conference (don’t forget about Stephen Curry next season), and a Suns team that has made a home in the lottery.
Sedano: Bam Adebayo. He’s exactly what the modern-day center should be. He is as versatile a defender as there is in the NBA and he has become a far better offensive player than most projected. He has the ability to be a far more athletic version of Draymond Green — which is pretty scary — and he arguably has become the focal point of Miami’s dribble handoff attack. He’s a pretty good midrange shooter and will continue develop his shot farther from the basket. The sky is the limit for Adebayo.
Woodyard: Donovan Mitchell. Not only has he reached the playoffs in both of his first two seasons, the Utah Jazz star is averaging nearly 25 points with his squad currently in second place in the Western Conference standings. Mitchell recently hit the 4,500-point mark in 199 games, joining Dwyane Wade, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Mitch Richmond and Michael Jordan — yes, MJ — as the six most recent guards to reach that mark within their first 200 games. The kid is special and he’ll only get better. Watch out.
MORE: Everything to know for NBA All-Star 2020