With the NBA All Star voting now open and with the NBA all star game just under two months away, I decided to make my predictions on who will appear in the 2020 NBA All Star Game. I am predicting the five starters from each conference (2 backcourt and 3 frontcourt players) as well as the seven reserves from each conference. Just a disclaimer before I begin my predictions, Kyrie Irving, Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson will not be in this article because of their injuries, which make them unable or questionable to play in the all star game. With that being said, there is so many great players having great seasons that didn’t make the cut. This list is also heavily influenced by team success, just like the actual all star voting. The all star voting system rewards players on teams with a high seeding, compared to a player on a team with a low seeding. So now that we got that out of the way, we will begin with my honourable mentions.
Honourable Mentions:
Jaylen Brown, Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Spencer Dinwiddie, Devonte Graham, Zach Lavine, Malcolm Brogdon, Rudy Gobert, CJ McCollum, Andrew Wiggins, Brandon Ingram, Lou Williams and Jamal Murray
Some of these cuts were a lot more difficult, such as Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram who should be the first names to consider if an all star gets injured. Now that we have the honourable mentions out of the way, it’s time to start my predictions for who will be a 2020 all star, starting in the eastern conference.
Eastern Conference Reserves:
Kyle Lowry– Lowry has been an all star for 5 consecutive years and is the second best player on one of the best eastern conference teams. Lowry definitely won’t be an all star starter but with averages of 20 points per game and almost 8 assists per game, I have him being an all star for the 6th consecutive season.
Khris Middleton- Statistically, you could argue that a guy like Spencer Dinwiddie should be an all star over Middleton, but with the Bucks dominating the whole league, Giannis needs a teammate to join him in the all star game with how their team is doing and Middleton is the obvious choice. Middleton is close to the 50/40/90 club and is scoring more as well as being more efficient then he was last year when he was an all star.
Domantas Sabonis- The Indiana Pacers will most likely have an all star this season, due to their ability to be a top 5 seed in the eastern conference, even with the absence of Victor Oladipo. I give Sabonis the slight edge over Brogdon for a few reasons. The first is that Sabonis is the only player in the NBA who is averaging at least 18 points 14 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Lastly, Sabonis’s net rating is way better than Brogdon’s.
Bam Adebayo- What a surprise Bam has been this season! He’s a front runner most improved player candidate and is the starting center on one of the best teams in the east. Even Bam’s teammate and Miami Heat star player Jimmy Butler has said that Bam Adebayo is the star of the team. Bam is averaging 16 points 11 rebounds and almost 5 assists per game as a center. Add this to Bam’s great defence, he should make his first all star appearance in 2020.
Jimmy Butler- Jimmy Butler was close to being a starter for me because of his amazing play this season. He’s leading the Heat to the 3rd seed in the east and individually being second in the league for steals per game with 2.1. He is playing at an all nba defensive level and being the Heats leading scorer with 20 points per game and also being the Heats leading assists leader with 6.6 assists per game. He also has great hustle and impacts the game in a way that stats don’t always show.
Trae Young- Usually the selection of NBA all stars doesn’t reward players with good stats on a bad team, but Trae Young’s numbers are hard to ignore. He’s made a huge jump since last season and is averaging 29 points per game, which is the 4th best in the entire league, along with his 8.5 assists per game, which is the 5th best in the entire league and lastly he is 7th in the league for 3 pointers made per game. It’s impossible not to give Trae Young the all star nod due to his eye popping statistics and many highlight moments and hot streaks from the season. If Trae’s team had more wins, he would definitely have my vote as an all star starter.
Jayson Tatum- This was the toughest selection I had to make on this list. This last spot came down between Celtics teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who are both averaging over 20 points per game this season. I chose Tatum over Jaylen Brown solely based on him having more name recognition then Jaylen, Tatum having a higher points per game average, even though he only averages 1 more point then Jaylen and lastly for Tatum’s plus minus rating which is 2nd in the entire league.
Eastern Conference Starters:
Bradley Beal- This starter spot was a close race between Beal and Trae Young. I gave Beal the slight edge, because of his team having slightly more wins then the Hawks, as well as Beal leading the Wizards scoring which places 3rd in the entire league. Beal is having a career year averaging 28 points per game and 7 assists per game. Beal has had 13 30 point games this season and in my eyes should get the all star starter nod.
Kemba Walker- Kemba is having a great year in Boston and leading them to the 2nd seed in the East. He’s putting up great numbers while being efficient and has proven to be a great leader in Boston that is loved by fans. With his team success, stats, flashy style of play and name recognition, this is all a great recipe for Kemba Walker’s all star starter nod
Pascal Siakam- Despite losing Kawhi Leonard in the offseason, Toronto is proving they are still a top team in the Eastern Conference lead by Siakam. Going into the season, some fans questioned if Pascal could thrive as a number one option, or if he was better suited as a second option. Well, Siakam has broken out of the Kawhi Leonard shadow and is averaging 25 points per game with 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game while shooting almost 40% from 3. He brings a lot of energy and excitement to the game that would translate very well to the all star game. Pascal deserves this starting spot after he has shown yet another big leap in his game.
Joel Embiid- Even though the 76ers are slightly underperforming, along with Joel Embiid’s numbers being down from last year all across the board, I still see Embiid being an easy choice for an all star starter spot. Embiid’s dip in numbers can be due to his time on the court being more limited than last season, as well as him finding his groove in the 76ers offence. Despite all of this, Embiid is still averaging 23 points per game, 12 rebounds per game and 3 assists per game on a top 4 seed in the east. Lastly he is the best defender on a team that is top 5 in defence as well as Embiid being top 4 in defensive win shares.
Giannis Antetokounmpo- Giannis is the biggest no brainer choice on this list. He was the league MVP last season and is the front runner for this years MVP race. He was an all star captain last year and is easily going to be an all star captain for the second year in a row. Giannis is debatably the best player in the whole NBA and is a for sure top 3 player in this league. Giannis’s statistics are incredible and goes to show how he might be the most dominant player in the NBA.
Western Conference Reserves:
Russell Westbrook- Westbrook narrowly gets the all star nod for me over Brandon Ingram. The main reason being that even though being an all star is an individual award, team success still plays a huge role in the all star selection process, not to mention that Westbrook has a super star level name recognition and was the league MVP just a couple seasons prior. He is also averaging 24 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game on a team that is the 4th seed in the western conference.
Devin Booker- Even though the Phoenix Suns hot streak has fizzled out, I still have Devin Booker making his first ever all star appearance. He is almost part of the 50/40/90 club on a team where he’s the first scoring option. He’s putting up averages of 24 points per game and 6.5 assists per game. Now that Booker’s team has gotten better and he has shown how versatile of a scorer he is, as well as showing how he can lead a top 10 offence in the league, I predict Booker will be an all star in 2020.
Paul George- Paul George isn’t having an MVP caliber season like last season, but he’s still having an all star season. He is putting up 24 points per game, which is the second highest scoring season in his career, while having one of the most efficient seasons in his career, not to mention his elite defence while being on a championship contending team.
Nikola Jokic- Even though fans were concerned about Jokic at the start of the season due to his 3 point shooting struggles, looking out of shape and being kept to single digits for scoring in multiple games, Jokic has picked up his game in the month of December. Overall he’s averaging 18 points per game, 10 rebounds per game and 7 assists per game as well as being the best player on the 2nd seeded team in the western conference.
Donovan Mitchell- Even though the Jazz are underperforming as a team this season, Donovan Mitchell has been one of the brightest spots on this team. Mitchell is averaging a career best 25 points per game with improved shooting stats as well as an improved assists to turnover ratio. Mitchell has gotten better in each year of his career and I predict for Mitchell to have his first all star appearance. Even though Rudy Gobert was an all star last year and has better advanced stats then Mitchell, Donovan Mitchell is flashier and more recognizable which will help his all star case.
Damian Lillard- Damian Lillard is quietly having yet another amazing year with the Trailblazers. He is putting up very similar numbers to his previous 2 all star seasons. Lillard is averaging 27 points per game and 7 assists per game. The biggest knack on Lillard’s all star case has been his team not performing as well as they have in recent years. The Blazers are currently the 8th seed and have picked up their play as of late, but regardless of team success, it’s very difficult to leave Lillard off an all star team.
Karl Anthony Towns- Towns was so close to being an all star starter for me. He’s having a career year in Minnesota, putting up 27 points per game 12 rebounds per game and 4 assists while attempting almost 9 threes a game. He’s proving he’s an elite 3 point shooter, not just among centers, but among the entire league! Towns is one of the best offensive players the league has today. He’s improved his playmaking and can legitimately score from anywhere on the court with consistency even as a 7 footer. This will be Town’s 3rd straight all star appearance and he barely misses out on being a starter solely based on his team success. Minnesota is winless in the month of December (0-11) after starting out the season with a record of 4-1.
Western Conference Starters:
Luka Doncic- Going into the 2019-2020 season we knew Luka Doncic was good, but I don’t think anyone expected Luka Doncic to be this good this early into his career. Luka legally can’t even go into a bar and yet he’s averaging 29 points per game 9 rebounds and 9 assists per game, while leading the Mavericks to the 5th seed in the west. When you talk about Luka, you’re talking about an MVP candidate as well as a top 3 scorer and a top 3 facilitator in this league at the age of 20. Luka is expected to be the face of the NBA and this season will mark his first all star game appearance.
Kawhi Leonard- Kawhi is without a doubt the best perimeter defender in the NBA and some would even argue he’s the best overall defender in the whole league. Kawhi Leonard is averaging 26 points per game with a career high 8 rebounds per game and a career high 5 assists per game. This isn’t even Kawhi at his peak because of his career worst field goal percentage and turnovers. Kawhi isn’t even at his best and he is still the leading player of a top 3 seed in the west and will be a lock for an all star starter spot.
James Harden- Criticize all you want about Harden and how his style of play will never translate to a ring and how a large portion of his points are free throws. Hate all you want, but you can’t deny that James Harden is one of the greatest scorers this league has ever seen. Harden is averaging a whopping 38 points per game along with almost 8 assists per game. Harden is attempting the most 3 pointers and free throws in the entire league. He’s the leader of a top 4 seeded team in the west and has a legitimate chance to become the western captain for the all star game, but ultimately I don’t think he will be selected as a captain based off how polarizing he is with fans.
Anthony Davis– Anthony Davis hasn’t had much team success throughout his NBA career so far but yet he has been an all star starter twice and an all star in 6 consecutive seasons. Team success has never held Davis back from being an all star before, so now that he is averaging 28 points per game on the best team in the western conference, there’s no doubt Davis will be starting in this years all star game. He is the favourite to win the defensive player of the year award and is a top 5 MVP candidate this season. With all of this success, it’s scary to think that Davis is having one of the worst shooting seasons of his career. Anthony Davis is one of the most dominant players in the league and Los Angeles hasn’t even seen Davis at his full potential yet.
Lebron James- Lebron James is basically a lock for being an all star starter and will most likely be chosen as a captain for the all star game. He is doing all of this in his 17th season. In his 17th season Lebron is without a doubt a top 3 player in the NBA and is leading the league in assists with almost 11 assists per game, as well as putting up 26 points per game. You can see how impactful Lebron is on this Lakers team by how they perform when he’s off the court. He’s a top 5 MVP candidate and is the leagues most recognizable player.
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