NBA All-Star Rosters 2018: TV Schedule, Reserves Predictions Under New Format
Now we wait.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the Eastern and Western Conference team captains for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game already know the names of the eight players that will be drafted in the first round, but they are still in the dark about the 14 players that will be named as All-Star reserves.
That will change Tuesday night, when the reserves will be announced during TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.
Once the players, who will be selected by NBA head coaches, are revealed, James and Curry can begin to choose players for their rosters, regardless of conference affiliation.
In the first round, James, the overall vote-getter, will pick first from a pool of players that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,530,211), Joel Embiid (1,285,587), Kyrie Irving (2,170,833) and DeMar DeRozan (998,999) from the East and Kevin Durant (2,238,406), James Harden (1,486,830), Anthony Davis (1,088,230) and DeMarcus Cousins (922,269) from the West.
The picks will alternate until all of the players in the first round have been chosen.
Curry will pick first in the second round, which will follow the same rules as the first until all of the reserves have been selected.
The top names for the reserves from the East are Kristaps Porzingis, Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal and John Wall, Al Horford of the Boston Celtics, Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets.
The top reserves from the West include Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Golden State's Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler, Portland Trailblazers' Damian Lillard and Karl-Anthony Towns.
James wants to win, and since things haven't been going his way with the Cavs, he'll undoubtedly choose Durant with the first pick to make sure he gets the win.
Curry will likely go for Antetokounmpo, if not to win, then at least not to get dunked on again. From there, James might round out his squad with Harden, Cousins, Beal, DeRozan, Porzingis, Love, Butler, Walker, Westbrook and Aldridge.
Curry will probably opt for familiarity, so he'll choose Green and Thompson, then go with Towns, Oladipo, Wall, Horford, Drummond, Davis, Irving and Lillard.
By the end of the draft, Team James and Team Curry should each have a team of 12.
The draft won't be televised, a caveat in the new format that fans and analysts have not been happy about. The reason is simple: the draft can be full of drama. Friends will be under pressure to select friends, players won't want to be picked last on television and choosing foes or players from rivals teams could be awkward with the whole world watching.
"I think it should be televised," Wall told NBC Sports Washington's Wizards Tipoff podcast. "If you made the All-Star Game, it should be televised who is going to be on what team. I don't think you should call them and then wait until everybody sees who will be an All-Star. They should let it be known. We're grown men, like [LeBron] said. If they ain't pick you, they ain't pick you."
Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, feels differently, according to his statement to NBA TV's The Starters.
"Should there be a public selection? Yes, it would be more fun if we had that kind of draft. On the other hand, I recognize that in picking a team to perform in the here and now, it's a little different than drafting. There was a sense from the players that it put them in an impossible position, where they're picking one player over another—in part, not because they necessarily think that player is better than another player, maybe because they have a personal relationship with the player. Invariably, if they just did it as a pure draft, guys would say, 'Oh, I can't believe such and such was selected before that player'...The goal was to improve the All-Star Game, not put a cherry on top of the cake."
The final team rosters will be broadcast on Thursday during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.
The process for selecting head coaches remains unchanged. Like previous games, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference coach who clinches the best record in their conference two weeks before the game will earn a spot on the bench.
Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens and Golden State's Steve Kerr are both ineligible because they coached the game last season. Although the players will disregard conference affiliation, the coaches will align with the respective captain from each conference.
The 67th annual midseason classic, which will be played at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 18 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), will be televised on TNT for the 16th consecutive year.
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