Hoops Habit
Fansided

Way too early NBA All-Star ballot selections for this season

By Michael Shearer

May 16, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) talks to Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) talks to Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
NBA, All-Star, NBA All-Star
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 30: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves compete in the fourth quarter of the game at Target Center on October 30, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, NBA All-Star. The Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 93-91. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

2021-2022 will be a big year for NBA All-Star voting. Many players who are recent mainstays (Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, etc.) are unlikely to make it – at least, let’s hope.

Fan ballots are 50 percent of the vote for starters (media and players make up the other 50%; coaches from each conference choose the reserves), and strange things happen every year.

But the 2021-2022 NBA All-Star teams should be full of fresh faces who are entirely new or haven’t been here in a while.

Way too early NBA All-Star ballot selections for this season

It’s always awesome to see a new name in the NBA All-Star game, and it’s a sort of career validation for many players. Being an All-Star brings more contract money, more exposure on social media, more lines on your Basketball-Reference page, more name recognition, more endorsement opportunities… just more.

Below, I will list my personal selections if the All-Star voting was held today (note: these are not predictions). I’m not going to spend time talking about the obvious candidates. Yes, Steph Curry will be an All-Star; there’s not much interesting to say about that. Instead, I’ll explain my thinking on some of the fringe cases.

NBA All-Star ballots contain two backcourt and three frontcourt players to start, and the same plus two wildcards as reserves for a total of 12 players per conference.

Again: these are not predictions but simply a reward for performance to date. I was a little more flexible with games missed than usual, given the preponderance of COVID protocols messing with players’ availability. Onwards to the Eastern Conference!