With the voting opening up late last week it is officially the time of year to debate All-Star selections. In a season unlike any other, qualifications for making an All-Star game will need to be adjusted. Games played and team records are often used as tie-breakers when whittling down the field but given issues with health and safety protocols and postponed games the schedule is completely out of whack.
This is not to say those things do not matter. If that is the only thing to differentiate between two players then additional factors will need to be discussed. As stated before, the field this season is loaded. There are players resetting expectations, such as the Detroit Pistons Jerami Grant and the Houston Rockets Christian Wood. There are title contenders flexing on a nightly basis, with the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers like all likely deserving multiple selections. That does not even mention the two current MVP front runners in Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic. As so many players are excelling it makes it impossible to get everyone onto the team who deserves it.
Making NBA All-Star selections is tough in any season. In such a small sample size with so many legendary performances who makes the cut?
We will follow the required outline of two backcourt and three frontcourt players for the starters, two backcourt and three frontcourt for the reserves as well as two wildcards per conference. After the reserves we will give some respect to some honorable mentions who barely missed the cut and could be considered as replacements should the NBA choose to play the game itself, which seems increasingly likely despite all the risks.