Written by Lang Whitaker at NBA.com
- East Reserves: Paul George, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, Paul Millsap, Isaiah Thomas, Kemba Walker, John Wall
- West Reserves: DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, Draymond Green, Gordon Hayward, DeAndre Jordan, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook
Winning matters.
That seems to be the message from the coaches who selected the reserves for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers each lead the Western and Eastern Conferences, and today we learned they will get a combined seven players in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
And it wasn’t just them: Every player among the All-Star reserves named plays for a team currently in playoff contention. The starters for the 66th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played Sunday, Feb. 19, in New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center, were selected after voting by fans, players and select media members, while the seven reserves for each conference were selected by a vote from each conference’s coaches.
Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry made the starting lineup, and Thursday their Warriors teammates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were each selected as Western Conference reserves. After making his All-Star debut a season ago, Green will return this year, averaging 10.7 points, along with a team-leading 8.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Heading south along with Green will be Klay Thompson, the sharp-shooting guard who is averaging 21.1 points for the NBA-best 39-7 Warriors.
If there were anyone who was a lock to make the All-Star reserves, it was Russell Westbrook. Although Westbrook finished first among Western Conference guards in voting from media and current players, he finished third in fan voting, which kept him from the starting five. Through his first 46 games this season, the electrifying Oklahoma City point guard is averaging a league-leading 30.7 points, plus 10.4 assists and 10.7 rebounds. If Westbrook is able to sustain those averages, he’d be the first player to average a triple-double over an entire season since Oscar Robertson in 1962.
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