The biggest snub as NBA All-Star Game starters revealed

Teams for the NBA’s new-look All-Star Game have been announced and some big-name players have been overlooked.

Buzz is starting to build ahead of the NBA’s new-look All-Star Game, with the five starters from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference announced on Friday.

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There weren’t any real surprises in the West, with Steph Curry and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander combining in the backcourt while LeBron James, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant make up the frontcourt.

Elsewhere, in the East, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was snubbed despite receiving the most fan votes with Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell instead featuring in the backcourt.

LaMelo Ball averages more

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than both All-Star starting guards in the East. pic.twitter.com/GffqyQ4DmJ

— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 24, 2025

The frontcourt, meanwhile, consists of Karl-Anthony Towns, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.

Fan voting for the All-Star Game closed on Tuesday. Players were divided into each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) before then being ranked depending on how many votes they received from fans, fellow players and the media.

Each player’s score was then determined by averaging their weighted rank from the fan, player, and media votes, with the two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score from each conference named a starter.

In the case of Ball, he came third in player voting and seventh in media voting.

Eastern Conference Starters

Guard: Jalen Brunson

Guard: Donovan Mitchell

Frontcourt: Karl-Anthony Towns

Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Frontcourt: Jayson Tatum

Western Conference Starters

Guard: Steph Curry

Guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Frontcourt: LeBron James

Frontcourt: Nikola Jokic

Frontcourt: Kevin Durant

This year’s All-Star Game features a brand new four-team mini tournament, with Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith drafting All-Star squads to join the Rising Stars game winner.

However, 10 starters will still be distinguished from the rest as in years past.

WHAT DOES THE NEW ALL-STAR GAME FORMAT LOOK LIKE?

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced the change last month, which followed criticism about the lack of intensity by players in the mid-season exhibition contest in recent years.

This year’s NBA All-Star Game will be staged on February 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The mini-tournament will feature two semi-finals with the winners advancing to a championship contest, with all games being played to a target score of 40 points.

A prize pool of $1.8 million includes $125,000 for each member of the championship club, $50,000 for each member of the runner-up squad and $25,000 each for those on the semi-final loses.

The first team to qualify will be the winner of the Rising Stars game on February 14, a showcase of first-year and second-year NBA and developmental G-League talent.

The squad will be known as Team Candace for Women’s NBA legend Candace Parker, one of the four analysts from US telecaster TNT whose names will be given to the All-Star clubs -- the others being O’Neal, Smith and Barkley.

Each of the former NBA stars will select eight players from the pool of 24 available All-Stars to fill out the All-Star rosters for Team Chuck, Team Shaq and Team Kenny in an All-Star Draft on February 6.

Voting for All-Star starters will remain the same with fan voting counting for 50% of the total and 25% each going to current NBA players and a media panel. NBA coaches will select reserve players.

The head coaches of the four NBA All-Star squads will come from the coaching staffs of the teams with the best record in the Eastern and Western conferences through February 2, two head coaches for All-Star teams and two assistants for the Rising Stars and the other All-Star lineup.

Originally published as The biggest snub as NBA All-Star Game starters revealed