Harden, Lillard headline 2021 NBA All-Star reserves
Four of the 14 players named as reserves will be making their first appearances in an All-Star Game.
NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden and Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul lead the list of 14 players selected by the NBA’s head coaches as reserves for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. Harden has been named an All-Star for the ninth straight year and Paul has earned his 11th All-Star selection.
The 70th NBA All-Star Game will be played Sunday, March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta and televised by TNT as part of NBA All-Star 2021, which will take place on one night. TNT’s NBA All-Star coverage will begin at 5 p.m. ET with TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax, followed by the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge and MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star Game coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with AT&T Slam Dunk taking place at halftime.
- 2021 NBA All-Star | All-Star rosters
In addition to Harden, the NBA All-Star Game reserves selected from the Eastern Conference are Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and forward Jayson Tatum, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, New York Knicks forward Julius Randle, Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons and Orlando Magic center Nikola Vučević.
Joining Paul as reserves from the Western Conference are Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, LA Clippers forward Paul George, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Brown, LaVine and Randle from the Eastern Conference and Williamson from the Western Conference comprise the four first-time NBA All-Star selections among reserves.
In selecting the All-Star Game reserves, each NBA head coach voted for seven players in his conference – two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at any position. The head coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
The All-Star Game rosters will be determined through the NBA All-Star Draft, where team captains Kevin Durant of the Nets and LeBron James of the Lakers will select from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference. TNT will air the NBA All-Star Draft on Thursday, March 4 at 8 p.m. ET.
Durant and James will make their picks without regard to a player’s conference affiliation or position. Each captain will draft 11 players to complete a 12-player roster. The NBA All-Star Draft rules include:
• The eight players who, along with the two captains, are the starters will be drafted in the first round.
• The 14 players who are the reserves will be drafted in the second round.
• As the top overall vote-getter among fans, James will have the first pick in the first round (Starters). Durant will have the first pick in the second round (Reserves).
• The captains will alternate picks in each round until all players in that round have been selected.
The 10 All-Star Game starters, unveiled last week, were selected by fans, current NBA players and a media panel. The Eastern Conference starter pool is the Nets’ Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and the 76ers’ Joel Embiid. The Western Conference starter pool is the Lakers’ James, the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Dončić, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić and the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game, naming a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced.
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers and his staff have earned the spot to coach Team Durant. Utah head coach Quin Snyder and his staff have earned the spot to coach Team LeBron.
Below is a closer look at the All-Star Game reserves and a complete list of this year’s All-Star selections
2021 NBA All-Star Game Reserves
Eastern Conference Player Pool
• Jaylen Brown, Celtics (1st All-Star selection): Brown joins Tatum to give Boston multiple All-Star selections for the third time in the last four seasons.
• James Harden, Nets (9th All-Star selection): With the selection of Harden as a reserve and Durant and Irving as starters, the Nets have three NBA All-Stars in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
• Zach LaVine, Bulls (1st All-Star selection): A two-time AT&T Slam Dunk champion and former Rising Stars MVP, LaVine is Chicago’s first NBA All-Star since Jimmy Butler in the 2016-17 season.
• Julius Randle, Knicks (1st All-Star selection): Randle is the first New York player selected as an All-Star since Kristaps Porzingis in the 2017-18 season.
• Ben Simmons, 76ers (3rd All-Star selection): The 24-year-old Australian has followed his Kia NBA Rookie of the Year-winning season in 2017-18 with three consecutive All-Star selections.
• Jayson Tatum, Celtics (2nd All-Star selection): This is the second straight All-Star selection for Tatum, who turns 23 four days before the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.
• Nikola Vučević, Magic (2nd All-Star selection): Vučević is an All-Star for the second time in the last three seasons.
Western Conference Player Pool
• Anthony Davis, Lakers (8th All-Star selection): Davis, who scored a record 52 points in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, is an All-Star for the eighth consecutive year.
• Paul George, Clippers (7th All-Star selection): An All-Star for the seventh time in the last nine seasons, George made a record nine three-pointers and scored 41 points in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
• Rudy Gobert, Jazz (2nd All-Star selection): The two-time Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his All-Star Game debut last year.
• Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers (6th All-Star selection): Lillard is the second player to be named an All-Star six times with Portland, along with Clyde Drexler (eight selections with the Trail Blazers).
• Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (2nd All-Star selection): Mitchell joins Utah teammate Gobert as an All-Star for the second year in a row.
• Chris Paul, Suns (11th All-Star selection): Paul has become the third player to be named an All-Star with four different franchises, joining Moses Malone and Shaquille O’Neal.
• Zion Williamson, Pelicans (1st All-Star selection): Williamson, 20, is set to become the fourth-youngest player to play in the NBA All-Star Game, behind Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
