NBA All-Star voting has been live for a little over 2 weeks now. So what better time than now to give you my all-star selections/predictions? In this article i'll be giving you all my western conference all-star selections, i'll make sure to go in depth and explain why I select who I have and provide stats to help back it up (along with the eye test of course). I'll be doing both starters and reserves. For those of you who don't know, the format for starters is 3 frontcourt players (Center, Small forwards and Power forward) and 2 backcourt players (Point guard or Shooting guard). The format for reserves is the same as the starters format but with 2 wildcards added on top of that. Wildcards can be any position. Now let's get into this long and extensive article.
Luka Doncic
Doncic has been a freak of nature this season and if the MVP award was based off of the most important player to a team in the entire league. It would be Doncic. Doncic is averaging a ridiculous 33.7 Points, 8.9 Assists and 8.8 rebounds. He's shooting efficiently and can do literally everything and anything on offense. His defense could be much improved, but what he provides on offense more than makes up for that. The numbers he puts up are insane and without Doncic the Mavericks would easily be a bottom 5 team in the west. What's even more crazy to think is that Doncic is currently not leading the MVP race. That just goes to show how great the league is this season. The Mavericks are 20-16 and are the 6th seed in the conference. That's all thanks to Luka Doncic
Ja Morant
Morant has been really good this season and although I don't believe he's been better than Steph Curry. He simply has been more healthy and with Curry yet to be evaluated for his injury I'm gonna give the starting spot to Morant here. The Grizzlies did sit at the #1 spot in the West for a little while but have since then fallen to #3. But Morant has still been having a really good season. He's averaging 26.8 Points, 8.1 Assists and 6.2 Rebounds. The Grizzlies are 21-13 and hold the 3rd spot in the west.
Nikola Jokic
Jokic is currently number 1 on the MVP ladder and deservingly so. Due to voter fatigue I don't see any chance of Jokic winning MVP for the third straight season even though he's playing that good. Last season Jokic wasn't able to lead his team any further than the 6th seed and that was due to Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray both being absent on the season due to injury. But now that those 2 are present Jokic is able to take this team to the next level. They currently are tied for the 1st seed in the west sitting at a record of 23-12. Jokic is averaging 25.5 Points, 10.9 Rebounds and 9.5 Assists on an amazing 61 percent from the field. He can be the team's best playmaker and scorer AND rebounder and do it all so effortlessly. He's in my opinion the best center in the league and deserves all the accolades.
Lebron James
Lebron has only played 3 more games than his teammate Anthony Davis who I would've given this spot to if he was healthy. But considering he hasn't played in awhile and will be out for an ex amount of time, I gotta give this spot to Lebron. The Lakers started off absolutely terrible and were one of the worst teams in the league. But they've been playing a lot better and now sit at 15-21. Lebron is still playing as good as ever and is not slowing down in terms of production. He's averaging 28.5 Points, 8.1 Rebounds and 6.6 Assists whilst shooting 50% from the field. Lebron's name value alone will get him this spot but he is also playing really well and deserves this spot regardless of how the Lakers are record wise. They hold the 13th spot in the West and if Anthony Davis hadn't gotten hurt they would be in a much better position.
Zion Willamson
Zion has been really good following his absence last season. The Pelicans last year were a play-in team who gave the first seeded Suns a tough challenge. All of that was without Zion playing. It was only a matter of time until this team's true potential was unleashed. And right now that potential is tied for the first seed in the west with a record of 23-12. Zion has been just as good when he was an all-star before his absence last season and his presence alone has pushed this team to the next level. He's currently averaging 26.2 Points, 6.9 Rebounds and 4.6 assists on a field goal percentage of 61%. The best of Zion Williamson is yet to come. And that's scary for the rest of the league.
Paul George
In my opinion Paul George is the best player on the Clippers. He's simply more available and provides exactly what Kawhi Leonard does. Paul George has been really good this season and leading this team to a much better spot than they were in last season. Paul George is currently averaging 24.4 Points, 6.2 Rebounds and 5.2 Assists shooting 45.7 percent from the field. His blend of offense and defense is amazing and he's a top player in the west that deserves a lot more recognition than he gets. The Clippers are 21-17 and hold the 6th seed in the west.
Stephen Curry
If Curry didn't get hurt he would for sure get the starting spot. But alas he's here as one of the 2 backcourt reserves. The Warriors have not been great this season and had an even worse start to the season. But prior to Curry's injury they were trending in the right direction. They are the best team in the NBA at home and that's obviously huge thanks to Curry. He's averaging a clean 30 Points, 6.6 Rebounds and 6.8 Assists on exactly 50% from the field. I believe he is supposed to be re-evaluated next week or so, maybe a little bit sooner. But when he comes back he should be the same beast he was prior to injury. The Warriors are 19-18 and hold the 9th seed in the west
Anthony Davis
Yet again an unfortunate injury forcing an all-star starter to go to the reserves. Anthony Davis was a player that I've always seen as overrated. He's always been talented and been an amazing player. But when he won the championship in 2020 with Lebron he started being called a top 3 player in the world which I thought was ridiculous. Injuries have derailed his last 2 seasons and up until this season doubted Davis. I didn't see him returning to his old self. He's still yet to do that and it's because this season he's been even better than his old self. He's currently averaging 27.4 Points, 12.1 Rebounds, 2.6 Assists and shooting 59.4% from the field. If the Lakers can maintain a 11th or 12th seed until Davis returns. This team could push for the play-in or even the playoffs. As of now they are 15-21 and hold the 13th spot in the west.
Domantas Sabonis
The Kings have been surprisingly good this season. The expectation for a play-in spot was had for this team, but they are currently in the playoffs as of right now. Shoutout to De'Aaron Fox who I wanted to select but couldn't due to the talent in the league. Moving on to Sabonis however he's been really good this season. Being able to score efficiently and grab rebounds at a high level. He's currently averaging 18.6 Points, 12.4 Rebounds which leads the league, 6.6 Assists and on a high efficiency of 62.6%. The Kings are 19-16 and currently hold the 6th seed in the west.
Lauri Markkanen
Never thought that Markkanen would be an all-star, let alone on the Utah Jazz this season. The Jazz have been overachieving all year long and even now when they are not doing nearly as good at the start of the season. They are still impressive compared to what we thought they were. This was a team that was supposed to get the 1st overall pick with ease. But instead they are in the play-in tournament and could make the playoffs. That's in huge thanks to Lauri Markkanen who has become an amazing player in Utah. He's currently averaging 23.8 Points, 8.5 Rebounds, 1.9 Assists and he's shooting 53.2% from the field. He's an all around type of scorer who can shoot and finish. You love to see players like this who breakout into stardom. The Jazz are 19-20 and hold the 10th seed in the West.
Devin Booker
Booker has been just as good as he's always been. Not too much to say honestly about him. Very good scorer who can score however he wants. The Suns haven't been fully healthy unfortunately so record-wise this team has been disappointing. But Booker has still been really good this season. He's averaging 27.1 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 5.6 Assists and shooting 47.7%. The Suns currently are 20-18 and hold the 7th spot in the west
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai has been an absolute monster this season and is helping the Thunder overachieve this year. He's always been a really good player bound to make an all-star team. And if the Thunder were a better squad I would for sure give him the starting spot. But I do care about record a little bit so Shai is on the reserves. He can do it all on the scoring end and is a good playmaker as well. He's currently averaging 30.8 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 5.8 Assists while shooting 49.9% from the field. I never saw Shai being this good THIS early and that just goes to show how much i've been underrating him. The Thunder are 15-21 and hold the 12th spot in the west.
Stay tuned for the eastern conference side of my all-star selections!
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