Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Here are the 2023 NBA All-Star Game starters.
The starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game have been announced. The starters were determined by three different voting bodies: the fan vote made up 50 percent, a media vote determined 25 percent, and a coaches vote took up 25 percent. Now we know who is starting the All-Star Game on Sun, Feb 19 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The NBA did away with the East vs. West format of the All-Star Game years ago. Now there’s an All-Star draft, that for the first time will happen live the day of the game. Imagine one of the better players in the NBA having the indignity of being chosen last. It’s going to happen this year.
Five players from the Eastern Conference and five players from the Western Conference are still locked in as starters. Three front court players and two guard are starting for each conference. This is why Embiid was not named a starter in the East. With the four best players in the East — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum — each being labeled as front court players, one of them was always going to come off the bench. It’s a silly rule.
The starters were announced ahead of Thursday’s games. Here’s the starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game:
Eastern Conference starters for 2023 NBA All-Star Game
Donovan Mitchell, G, Cleveland Cavaliers: Mitchell was the only obvious pick to start the All-Star Game in the backcourt for the East. The guard has had a phenomenal debut campaign for the Cavs after getting traded from the Jazz for a massive haul of asset just before the season started. He’s averaging a career-high 28.3 points per game on easily the best scoring efficiency of his career with 62 true shooting. He’s even played better on the defensive end so far. The Cavs have legitimate NBA Finals aspirations this year, and they should only be better in the future with the 26-year-old Mitchell as their engine.
Kyrie Irving, G, Brooklyn Nets: Irving season began with a team suspension for sharing antisemitic propaganda on social media. Since he’s returned to the court, he’s maintained his status as one of the best backcourt scorers in basketball. Irving is averaging 26.8 points per game and continues to dazzle as both a ball handler and long distance shooter.
Kevin Durant, F, Brooklyn Nets: Durant was already an all-time great player before this season, but he’s somehow turned in one of the best years of his career at 34 years old. KD rescued Brooklyn out of so much early season turmoil by simply being one of the best offensive players alive and making a huge impact defensively. KD is averaging 29.7 points per game on absurd 67 percent true shooting, but hasn’t played since Jan. 8 with an MCL sprain. We had him No. 2 in our recent MVP poll. He’s really been that good.
Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics: Tatum is the best player on the best team in the NBA. Coming off a six-game loss in the NBA Finals, Tatum has responded by by putting up the best scoring numbers of his career — 31 points per game on 61.1 percent true shooting. He continues to be a key cog in a Celtics defense that can be as good as any in the league when it locks in. He’s also cut back his turnover percentage this year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks (captain): It may not always be pretty, but Giannis continues to be arguably the best player in the world. With co-star Khris Middleton in-and-out of the lineup all season, Antetokounmpo is shooting more than ever and isn’t scoring as efficiency. It’s incredible that averaging 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game on 58.8 percent true shooting (his lowest since his second year) counts as a ‘down’ year for Giannis, but that’s where we’re at.
Western Conference starters for 2023 NBA All-Star Game
Luka Doncic, G, Dallas Mavericks: Doncic is doing it all for the Mavericks this year — and he has no choice after losing his best teammate, Jalen Brunson, to the Knicks in free agency over the offseason. Still only 23 years old, Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring (33.8 points per game) while also being top-five in assists. He’s putting up one of the highest usage rates in league history right now, and has Dallas in the thick of the playoff race despite an uninspiring roster around him.
Stephen Curry, G, Golden State Warriors: Curry turned 35 years old this season, but he remains as amazing as ever. Curry is coming off one of the most brilliant runs of his career in leading the Golden State Warriors to their fourth championship last season while earning the first Finals MVP nod of his career. It’s scary to think that he was even better this season before a shoulder injury took him out of the lineup for a month. Golden State has gotten off to a mediocre start for their championship defense and is just trying to avoid the play-in tournament, but Curry has continued to be phenomenal despite younger and worse teammates around him.
LeBron James, F, Los Angeles Lakers (captain): Have you heard LeBron James is in season No. 20? Have you heard he’s about to break the NBA’s all-time scoring record? Not bad for a pass-first forward, I guess. LeBron is having another awesome individual season even if he’s no longer the best player in the NBA. His numbers — 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7 assists — are as great as ever. The Lakers are still below .500, but if they can get in the play-in tournament they know LeBron will make them a tough out regardless of the matchup.
Zion Williamson, F, New Orleans Pelicans: Williamson hasn’t played since Jan. 2 because of a hamstring injury, but when he was on the court he was one of the best players in the NBA, and the Pelicans were one of the best teams in the NBA. Williamson is a high-volume scorer (26 points per game) who does almost all of his damage at the rim. It’s remarkable how effective Williamson in despite being mostly a one-level scorer, but he’s so fast and so strong that no one can really stop him when he puts his head down. It will be so fun to watch Zion catch alley-oops and and throw down big dunks if he’s healthy enough to play.
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets: It’s time to accept that Nikola Jokic might be the best player alive. The back-to-back MVP winner is having an arguably even better season this year while leading the Denver Nuggets to the best record in the West. Jokic is averaging 25.1 points, 9.9 assists, and 11 rebounds per game on 70 percent true shooting. He’s taking fewer shots this year, but he still scores as efficiently as any superstar of this generation when he decides he wants to get a bucket. He remains one of the best passers of all-time, and his playmaking feels as impactful as ever this year. No NBA player has won three straight MVPs since Larry Bird, but Jokic feels like the front-runner right now to win again.
The rest of the NBA All-Stars will be announced on Feb. 2 when the league’s head coaches determine the reserves. There will be seven reserves in each conference: two guards, three frontcourt players, and two “wild cards” who can play any position. NBA commish Adam Silver will make the call on any injury replacements for the game.
