After weeks of voting, the 2021 NBA All-Star starters have officially been announced, featuring plenty of familiar names and coming with (predictably) tons of controversy.
Starting with the West, here are the names of the starters, according to Shams Charania.
2021 West All-Star starters:
Stephen Curry
Luka Doncic
LeBron James (captain)
Kawhi Leonard
Nikola Jokic
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2021
Of course, LeBron James being the captain is nothing unfamiliar — as him receiving the most votes has been the tradition for years now. Kawhi and Jokic, who are considered some of the best in their positions, are also unsurprisingly selections.
The biggest point of contention for the fans seems to be the guards. Luka Doncic and Steph Curry are both extremely popular, but many feel that Portland star Damian Lillard should have made it in over one of them.
https://twitter.com/DrGuru_/status/1362554854691004416
DAME ROBBED
— AFunkyDiabetic (@FunkyDiabetic1) February 19, 2021
Why Luka over dame dame is an mvp candidate
— Adi (@ChubbXHunt) February 19, 2021
DAME SNUBBED
— Christian (@christian_M_G1) February 19, 2021
Me not seeing dame on the list pic.twitter.com/MfTSM0E8Kv
— Bossston (@emepejotaa) February 19, 2021
In the East, Kevin Durant (fittingly) gathered the most votes, making him the captain.
2021 East All-Star starters:
Kyrie Irving
Bradley Beal
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kevin Durant (captain)
Joel Embiid
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2021
While not as controversial as the West selections, people still flooded the comments with reactions…
https://twitter.com/ahappyclipfan/status/1362557492425871361
HARDEN ROBBED
— BGN Hoops (@BGNHoops) February 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/LVD____/status/1362557478349774850
BRADLEY BEAL STARTING OVER HARDEN?? LMFAOOO
— 𝓙𝓸𝓼𝓱🚀 (@VanVleetEra) February 19, 2021
No Jaylen Brown? Interesting
— Smallz325 (@Smallzz325) February 19, 2021
So far, the biggest snub is Damian Lillard, who is having a career year with the Blazers. In the East, Jaylen Brown and James Harden have the strongest cases to be starters.
Still, all three of those guys are locks for reserves, and it will be interesting to see how the final rosters for both conferences shape up in the end.
