• All-Star Reserves: Official Release | Roster
• East All-Star Reserves:
Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Domantas Sabonis, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo
• West All-Star Reserves:
Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul, Brandon Ingram, Russell Westbrook
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You’ll see plenty of fresh faces at the 69th NBA All-Star Game next month in Chicago and not just in the form of first-time All-Star starters Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Pascal Siakam.
The fans, media and players who voted for the starters made sure of it last week. The coaches did the same tonight with their selections for the 14 reserves who will fill out the rosters, adding six additional first-time All-Stars to the mix.
Miami forward Bam Adebayo, Indiana forward Domantas Sabonis and Boston forward Jayson Tatum join Young and Siakam on the Eastern Conference list, while Utah center Rudy Gobert, Utah guard Donovan Mitchell and New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram join Doncic as first-timers on the Western Conference list.
Adebyao’s Miami teammate, Jimmy Butler, heads the list of Eastern Conference reserves, which also includes Ben Simmons (Philadelphia), Kyle Lowry (Toronto) and Khris Middleton (Milwaukee). Nikola Jokic (Denver), Damian Lillard (Portland), Chris Paul (Oklahoma City) and two-time Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP Russell Westbrook (Houston) fill out the Western Conference list.
Adebayo became a full-time starter this season and has been a stalwart alongside Butler, who is in his first season with the Heat. Miami is one of the surprise teams in the league this season. Sabonis, in his fourth season, has been the backbone of an Indiana team that played the first 47 games of schedule without inured All-Star guard Victor Oladipo. Tatum, in his third season, has gotten back to the two-way rhythm he showed during the playoffs of his rookie season, when he first flashed his All-Star potential.
Gobert, the reigning and back-to-back Kia Defensive Player of the Year, is finally a part of the All-Star team in his seventh season, joining Mitchell, the Jazz’s leading scorer, who makes the team in his third season. Ingram leads the Pelicans in scoring and has been the best player on a team that was supposed to be headlined by rookie sensation Zion Williamson, whose season was delayed by 45 games due to knee surgery.
For the second-straight season, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was the top vote-getter in the Western Conference. Anthony Davis (Lakers), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), James Harden (Houston) and Doncic round out the starting five.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was the top vote-getter in the Eastern Conference. He’s the headliner of a first five that includes Kemba Walker (Boston), Young (Atlanta), Siakam (Toronto) and Joel Embiid (Philadelphia).
Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each. James (6,275,459 fan votes) and Antetokounmpo (5,902,286 fan votes) led their respective conferences and position groups in fan voting. Dončić (6,111,735 fan votes) and Young (2,829,969 fan votes) also topped their respective position groups in fan voting.
As captains, James and Antetokounmpo will get to shape their own teams for the Feb. 16 game, choosing from a player pool that includes the other eight starters and the 14 reserves, regardless of conference designation.
The All-Star player draft will be live at 7 p.m. ET, Feb. 6 on TNT.
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Sekou Smith is a veteran NBA reporter and NBA TV analyst. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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