2025 NBA All-Star ballot: Predicting final starters, reserves, biggest snubs
Yesterday at 05:58 PM
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game is approaching! A total of 24 of the league’s best will pack their bags and head to San Francisco for this year’s All-Star festivities hosted by the Golden State Warriors, an event that has seen some changes compared to previous years.
Unlike the traditional East versus West format, this year’s event will see an entirely different layout in contrast to what we’ve ever seen. The 24-player pool will be split into three teams of eight players for a mini-tournament style format. The fourth team will consist of the players on the winning team from the Castrol Rising Stars.
How does this impact those voted in as starters and reserves? We will find out very soon, as the NBA is set to release the 10 All-Star starters on Thursday, Jan. 23, ahead of TNT’s coverage of games. The fan voting results have given us a glimpse as to who could end up starting in this year’s All-Star Game, but the final decision, which factors in the votes from the media and NBA personnel, will come on Thursday night.
Predicting who will make the NBA All-Star Game is always tough, especially since it is oftentimes a popularity contest. Many players who deserve recognition don’t receive it because they either play in a small market or are simply overshadowed by former All-Stars and legends that have overstayed their welcome.
Although this will undoubtedly happen again this season, several players will be making their first All-Star appearances, as well as the most successful teams being rewarded.
So, who will ultimately be named an All-Star this NBA season, and who will end up being the biggest snubs? Here is my ballot for this season’s Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars.
Eastern Conference picks & predictions
Starters: G Donovan Mitchell (CLE), G Cade Cunningham (DET), F Jayson Tatum (BOS), F Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), C Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)
Reserves: G Jalen Brunson (NYK), F Jaylen Brown (BOS), G Trae Young (ATL), F/C Evan Mobley (CLE), F Pascal Siakam (IND), G LaMelo Ball (CHA), G Darius Garland (CLE)
Four of the five starting spots in the Eastern Conference shouldn’t even be up for debate.
Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Karl-Anthony Towns have been the best in the East at their respective positions this season, and they will all be starters in this year’s All-Star Game. However, that fifth and final spot is up for debate and will come down to the media vote.
In the fan vote, it was Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball who took the top spot in the East backcourt over Mitchell and Damian Lillard. Although LaMelo has been fantastic for the Hornets this season, they are just 11-28 overall and near the bottom of the league standings. It would be hard to justify having Ball start for the East next to four players who are from the four best teams in the conference.
There is then the argument and comparisons of Cade Cunningham, Trae Young, and Jalen Brunson. One could throw Darius Garland in the mix as well, but the final starting guard spot next to Mitchell will come down to these three players.
Nobody thought the Detroit Pistons would be in playoff position this season, yet Cunningham has been the catalyst for their success, averaging 24.5 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from three-point range. He ranks 15th in scoring, and third in assists, plus Cade’s seven triple-doubles this year trail only Nikola Jokic (19) and LeBron James (9).
Brunson ranks ninth in scoring at 26.0 points per game and has been just as impactful as Towns to the New York Knicks’ overall success. When making the case for Young, his playmaking skills with a league-leading 11.7 assists per game stands out. Not to mention, the Atlanta Hawks have exceeded expectations being above .500 to this point.
The two main differences here in my ballot between Cunningham, Young, and Brunson are improvement and how each player has impacted their team’s success. That is why Cunningham gets the nod, as the improvements he’s made in his game to take the Pistons from 14 wins a season ago to being a legitimate playoff team deserve everyone’s recognition.
As for the rest of the East All-Star roster, everything else basically falls into line. Brunson, Young, and Ball all get in as the best backcourt players from the conference, and Jaylen Brown also earns himself All-Star honors for the third straight season due to his elite play on the wing in Boston.
The final three reserve spots are where things get interesting. More frontcourt talent is needed, and Evan Mobley makes the most sense to be a first-time All-Star in this spot. Mobley has been a key part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ success this season, and they wouldn’t own the best record in the league if it weren’t for him. Much of the same can be said about Garland and his contributions.
It is not uncommon for team success and record to impact the All-Star voting results, and the Cavs are very deserving of having three players in San Francisco this year. That leaves one final spot on the line with players like Damian Lillard, Pascal Siakam, Paolo Banchero, and Tyrese Maxey looking to be named an All-Star.
Siakam is the one who gets the nod here because of the impact he’s made to help the Indiana Pacers go on a run as a late. This was a close decision between the Pacers big man and Lillard, but Siakam’s efficiency and playmaking abilities have allowed the Pacers to pull even with the Milwaukee Bucks in the standings. One All-Star apiece from both teams makes sense in this situation.
Western Conference picks & predictions
Starters: G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC), G Stephen Curry (GSW), F/C Anthony Davis (LAL), F/C Victor Wembanyama (SAS), C Nikola Jokic (DEN)
Reserves: G Anthony Edwards (MIN), G De’Aaron Fox (SAC), F Kevin Durant (PHX), F LeBron James (LAL), C Alperen Sengun, G Norman Powell (LAC), F Jalen Williams (OKC)
Much like the Eastern Conference starters, there shouldn’t be anything to really debate regarding who is starting in the Western Conference.
Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama are all 100 percent starters in this year’s All-Star Game. If they are not voted as starters, these so-called “experts” who do make the voting decisions have no idea what they are doing and clearly don’t watch the games. Whereas Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander are leading the NBA MVP race, Wemby is the clear favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.
There shouldn’t be much debate regarding Anthony Davis being named a starter either. Some will vote for LeBron just because they can’t help themselves, but Davis has been the main reason behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ success this year. With one guard spot left, the argument shifts to Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards.
While Edwards leads Curry in scoring, rebounding, three-point shots made, and team success, this is the NBA we are talking about. If LeBron is somehow not going to be starting, there is no chance that the league will also have Curry start the game on the bench, especially since his Warriors are hosting All-Star Weekend! Edwards probably deserves the recognition a little more than Curry, but I don’t see a scenario where both Curry and James are sitting on the bench.
When filling out the rest of the West roster, four reserve spots can automatically be given to James, Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, and Kevin Durant. Fox ranks inside the top 10 in scoring this season and has helped the Sacramento Kings rise from the ashes after firing Mike Brown. Durant and the Suns are still struggling, but the 36-year-old ranks sixth in the league in scoring.
If there’s one player that deserves to be called an All-Star this year, it’s Alperen Sengun from the Houston Rockets. Sengun is a lot like Jokic in reference to the fact that he does a little bit of everything to help the Rockets win games. Since they own the second-best record in the West, it’s hard to come up with an argument against Sengun heading to San Francisco in February.
The final two wild card reserve spots are a toss-up, especially since there are maybe seven other players deserving of being called an All-Star this year. Ultimately, it’s Norman Powell and Jalen Williams that get the nod here.
Powell has been nothing short of amazing for the LA Clippers, this season, averaging a career-high 23.7 points per game while shooting 44.1 percent from three-point range. As good as James Harden has been, the Clippers wouldn’t have a winning record if it wasn’t for Powell stepping up from his sixth-man role off the bench and into the starting lineup with Paul George leaving this past offseason.
The OKC Thunder own the best record in the West, which is why SGA shouldn’t be their only All-Star. Williams has emerged as one of the best two-way players in the NBA this season, joining Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander as the only players averaging at least 20 points per game with at least 70 total steals this season. Only giving one All-Star to this great and emerging Thunder team wouldn’t be right.
Biggest All-Star Snubs
East: Damian Lillard, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Johnson, Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine
West: Domantas Sabonis, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Jaren Jackson Jr., Devin Booker, Ja Morant
At this point, what else does Domantas Sabonis have to do for the rest of the league to start respecting him? It is beginning to look inevitable that the Kings’ big man will once again be left off the All-Star roster simply because of how crowded the West frontcourt is.
Voters won’t put Sabonis in over Jokic, Wemby, or Davis. They also won’t do so over Durant and LeBron. That means Sabonis has to go up against Sengun, who automatically has the advantage because the Rockets don’t have a true All-Star talent and it’s not like Houston can’t not have an All-Star this season.
Sabonis has been awesome this season for the Kings, averaging 20.8 points, 14.2 rebounds (league-high), and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor and a league-high 48.4 percent from three-point range. The Kings center was the biggest snub from the 2024 NBA All-Star Game last year.
Other snubs from the West include Harden, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., Devin Booker, and Ja Morant.
it would be slightly surprising to see no Memphis Grizzlies player included in this year’s All-Star Game, but this roster has been hit hard by injuries again this season with guys being in and out of the lineup. Not to mention, their team success comes from their depth rather than Jackson or Morant dominating every night. Their stats just don’t match up with those who are picked to be All-Stars.
As for Harden and Booker, they get left off the roster in place of their teammates of Powell and Durant, respectively. Irving would be a great pick for the All-Star Game given his contributions with Doncic being injured, but giving him the nod over Fox, Edwards, or Williams as a reserve wouldn’t be right.
Over in the Eastern Conference, Lillard ends up being the biggest snub. Although I believe voters will put Lillard in the All-Star Game over the likes of Ball or Young, it just wouldn’t be right to reward winning over individual performances in this case. Ball is one of four players averaging at least 29 points per game this season, and Young leads the league in assists. That is why they got the nod over Dame in the first place.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner haven’t played enough games each to earn All-Star recognition and the chunk of time that Jalen Johnson missed plays a factor in Siakam getting All-Star honors over him in our ballot. Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, and Zach LaVine are apart of bottom-half teams in the East that have not found much success. They will each be possible replacement players if real All-Stars get injured.
The post 2025 NBA All-Star ballot: Predicting final starters, reserves, biggest snubs appeared first on ClutchPoints.
