- Brian Symons
- Feb 5, 2021
Author: Raul Martinez
Editor: Fran Attié
Around February, basketball fans are usually thrilled to see the NBA All-Star Game. But in the COVID-19 era, it has been postponed till early March. The NBA has layed out details regarding how voting will work and dates regarding the game, and fans should expect to see new rising stars and familiar faces during All-Star weekend.
Regarding the voting, it will be the same as always. Fans can vote for their favorite players on NBA.com or the NBA app, and choose up to ten players (five from the east and five from the west). Voting will start on Jan. 28 and end on Feb. 16. On special dates, however, Jan. 30, Feb. 2, Feb. 4, Feb. 13, and Feb. 16, the votes will count twice as much. Updates on voting will occur on Feb. 4 and Feb. 11 and will be live on TNT. After all the voting is done, the two highest voted players will be captains who will select their teams.
One player everyone is expecting to see is none other than Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freek has once again lead the Milwaukee Bucks to be a top-three team in the east, and the team ahead of the Bucks right now are the Brooklyn Nets, led by their three-headed monster Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant—all three of these superstars will likely be selected to participate in the game.
A player having a career year is Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards. Beal is averaging a career-high 34.7 PPG and playing incredible defense; yet, his team is still at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Boston Celtic Jaylen Brown has also been playing terrific basketball. Brown had to step up during Jayson Tatum's absence and has led the Boston Celtics to a top-five spot in the Eastern Conference. In one of those games though, the Celtics lost to the New York Knicks, guided by rebounding machine Julius Randle who is looking to be a reserve in his first NBA All-Star game. The Eastern Conference is no joke, as there is no clear favorite to head to the NBA finals so far.
Across the country, there is still the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both looking to start again in the All-Star game. Their neighbors Kawhi Leonard and Paul George also look to make an appearance. While the Denver Nuggets did have a rough start for the season, they managed to start winning again thanks to MVP candidate Nikola Jokić. Jokić has stepped up this season, averaging, 25.7 PPG, 8.7 APG, and 11.7 RPG, all career-highs. The starting backcourt for the west will only have two spots and, it will be a race between Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and Luka Doncic. Second-year player Zion Williamson is looking to be a reserve for the West this season, as he pushes his team to be a playoff contender. The Western Conference this year is as scary as ever and fans can expect to see players shine throughout the game.
Ultimately both conferences have many amazing players to offer, and they will show what they have to offer to the basketball community despite not having fans attending the game. If all goes as planned, this will be one of the most fascinating All-Star games ever played.
SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE