The NBA announced a bold, welcome reform to the all-star game on Tuesday. This year, the 24 players who become NBA All-Stars through normal methods will be put into one big pool. The top fan vote-getter from each conference will be named a team captain, and they’ll get to pick teams from the player pool.
How petty can the NBA All-Star Game get?
Good morning. We have that and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.
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Odds are high that LeBron James will be the captain out of the East, with Kyrie Irving and Giannis Antetokounmpo trailing him in the fan vote most closely last season. Stephen Curry has won the fan vote in the West for a couple of years running, but Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis, or Russell Westbrook could take it, based on results from recent years.
Mike Sykes and Zito Madu played out how it could go. You see the potential here, right?
Unless Kyrie is a captain, Kyrie is going to get picked much lower than he should. LeBron isn’t picking him. I doubt a Warrior is picking him. Could ... could Kyrie be the last pick? Or would LeBron take him off the top just to mess with him?
Imagine Westbrook as a captain, and Durant on the board as the best player available. No chance he’s making that pick. If Westbrook is captain, you can guarantee Durant will be on LeBron’s team.
What psychological games might LeBron play with future free agents like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green? How salty will Joel Embiid be when he isn’t the No. 1 pick? Is there any way possible we can get Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade into the all-star pool along with Chris Paul to open up a Banana Boat Squad opportunity?
Who will be the last players taken, and how freaking salty will they be?
This is going to be a fascinating psychological experiment. The NHL did this years ago and has since revamped its innovative NHL All-Star Weekend. But there’s something about the current incarnation of the NBA and its stars that imbue this idea with tremendous potential. For the first time in a while, fans are legitimately thinking, “I can’t wait until the all-star game!”
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