Just hours after hearing their names called as East reserves, first-time All-Stars Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brunson showed exactly why they’re considered two of the best in the NBA.

Check out every All-Star reserve from the East and West, the Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade two years later and our favorite photos from the first month of 2024 — all in today’s edition.

Stat Of The Day: The seven West reserves have 44 total All-Star selections, for an average of 6.29 … nearly 3x their East counterparts (2.43)

THE LINEUP 🏀

1. ⭐ East All-Star reserves
2. ⭐ West All-Star reserves
3. 🔥 Maxey drops 51, NY wins 9th straight
4. 🔄 Pacers-Kings trade 2 years later
5. 📸 Favorite photos from January

Kings at Pacers (7:30 ET, NBA App): Nearly two years since the Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade, the Pacers host the Kings (more in Section 4). See Friday’s full 10-game slate, which includes Warriors at Memphis (8 ET) on NBA TV.

On the first day of Black History Month, NBA.com highlighted the first Black players to reach NBA milestones. The first player drafted, first to sign an NBA contract, first to play a game, first to become an All-Star, first to win MVP and more.

1. EAST ALL-STAR RESERVES

The 14 All-Star reserves were announced on Thursday, bringing a mix of newcomers (in the East) and familiar faces (in the West) to the midseason celebration in Indianapolis.

The process: The reserves are selected by the coaches in each conference. They are not allowed to vote for their own players. They must select two guards, three frontcourt players and two wildcards that can be any position.

Watch: The “Inside the NBA” crew unveiled the East reserves

Eastern Conference reserves

• (3x) Bam Adebayo, Heat
• (1x) Paolo Banchero, Magic
• (3x) Jaylen Brown, Celtics
• (1x) Jalen Brunson, Knicks
• (1x) Tyrese Maxey, 76ers
• (5x) Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
• (3x) Julius Randle, Knicks

Quick Hits

• The seven reserves for the East include three first-time All-Stars in Brunson, Maxey and Banchero
• Mitchell is the most experienced reserve, earning his fifth selection, while the remaining three players — Adebayo, Brown and Randle — all reached three selections
• In total, the seven players have 17 All-Star selections for an average of 2.43
• The Celtics, Bucks, Sixers and Knicks each have two All-Stars headed to Indy between the starters and reserves

Reactions

• Magic moment: Watch Banchero and his Orlando teammates react to the announcement that the reigning Rookie of the Year is now an NBA All-Star
• Spoiler alert: Maxey’s stream of the telecast was behind, so his phone started blowing up from his Mom and teammate Joel Embiid before Maxey could hear Charles Barkley announce his name
• First call: No surprise that Mom was the first call Bam Adebayo got after his third selection
• Brunson’s night: Earned his first All-Star selection, dropped 40 in the Garden to beat Indiana, then left speechless as he was serenaded with MVP chants during his postgame interview
• Thibs on Brunson: Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was effusive with praise for his PG. “It’s surreal…each step there’s naysayers and he’s always proving them wrong” 

2. WEST ALL-STAR RESERVES 

While the East reserves feature a trio of first-time All-Stars, the West reserves feature a trio of former All-Star MVPs. Can you name them before you scroll down to the answer?

Watch: The “Inside the NBA” crew unveiled the West reserves

Western Conference reserves

• (4x) Devin Booker, Suns
• (10x) Stephen Curry, Warriors
• (9x) Anthony Davis, Lakers
• (2x) Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
• (9x) Paul George, Clippers
• (6x) Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
• (4x) Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves

Quick Hits

• The West has zero first-timers, only one player in Edwards with fewer than four selections and three players – Curry, Davis and George – with at least nine selections
• In total, the seven players have 44 All-Star selections for an average of 6.29, nearly three times their East counterparts
• The three former All-Star MVPs: Davis (2017), Leonard (2020) and Curry (2022)
• The Wolves, Suns, Lakers and Clippers each have two All-Stars between the starters and reserves

Reactions

• No water: AD wasn’t letting Austin Reaves douse his fit to celebrate his ninth selection
• Book-ed for Indy: Booker earned his fourth selection, which teammate Bradley Beal called an “Easy decision”
• KAT x KG: Towns joined Kevin Garnett as the only Wolves with 4+ All-Star nods

Takeaways: NBA.com’s Shaun Powell gave his five takeaways from the All-Star reserves announcement

3. MAXEY EARNS 1ST ALL-STAR & SCORES CAREER-HIGH 51 ON SAME NIGHT

What a night for Tyrese Maxey. Following his first All-Star selection, he dropped a career-high 51 points just a few hours later, lifting the Sixers to a 127-124 win over the Jazz to snap a four-game losing streak.

• Elite Company: Maxey joined Embiid, Wilt and Iverson as the only Sixers with multiple 50+ point games in a season

Maxey scored a career-best 32 points in the first half, knocking down all six of his 3s, as the Sixers led by as many as 12 points. But the Jazz kept battling back, tying the game on Lauri Markkanen’s 3 with 3:11 to play, setting up a clutch finish.

• Maxey ties it: After Utah took a three-point lead with 2:32 left, Maxey responded with his seventh 3 of the game to give him 49 points with 1:39 to play
• Pat Bev for the lead: After a pair of missed 3s by Utah, Patrick Beverley did not miss his, putting the Sixers up 3 with 41 left
• Maxey seals it: After the teams traded free throws down the stretch, Maxey was at the line with 4.4 seconds left with Philly hanging onto a one-point lead. He calmly sank both clutch FTs to reach 51 and a W
• Fantastic finish: Watch the final 5:21 in its entirety

Brunson shines as Knicks win 9th straight: Just hours after being named an All-Star for the first time, Jalen Brunson scored 40 points to help the Knicks overcome a 15-point deficit to secure the 109-105 win over the Grizzlies. This extends their win streak to nine straight, matching their longest run of the past decade.

Brunson scored 11 in the fourth, including the go-ahead floater with 1:46 to play. It was part of a 10-2 run that was capped off with a Precious Achiuwa tip-in dagger.

Cavs keep rolling: The Cavs got hot while Evan Mobley and Darius Garland were out. And have stayed hot since they returned on Jan. 29 and 31, respectively. On Thursday, the Cavs defeated the Grizzlies 108-101 for their fourth straight win and 12th in their last 13 games.

After earning his fifth All-Star selection, Donovan Mitchell led the way with 25 points, while Jarrett Allen fell one rebound shy of his 17th straight double-double.

No LeBron? No Davis? No problem …: The Celtics started the season unbeatable at TD Garden, enjoying their best home start in franchise history at 20-0. They’ve gone just 2-3 at home since then, including a 114-105 loss to a Lakers squad playing without LeBron or AD.

Instead it was Austin Reaves (season-high 32 pts, career-high 7 3s) that delivered in the lead role as the Lakers improved to .500 at the 50-game mark. Lakers coach Darvin Ham on Reaves: “He’s been nothing short of amazing…his leadership is starting to come through.”

4. KINGS-PACERS TRADE 2 YEARS LATER

As the trade winds grow from a breeze to forces capable of reshaping the whole NBA ahead of next week’s deadline (Feb. 8, 3 ET), there will be plenty of instant analysis with trade grades and declarations of winners and losers before any of the new-look teams play a game together.

That’s part of the fun of trade season.

Two years ago, the Kings and Pacers were part of a four-team deal centered around Tyrese Haliburton going from Sacramento to Indiana and Domantas Sabonis going from Indy to Sac.

The deal shocked many – including Haliburton – but after the dust settled and both players adjusted to their new teams, it turned out that the trade was a win for both teams for a similar reason.

Each team found its offensive heartbeat, the orchestrator of historically-efficient offenses.

• 2022-23: The Kings (118.6) set the record for the highest offensive rating in league history, en route to a 48-34 season to end the longest playoff drought in NBA history
• 2023-24: The Pacers (121.3) are on track to shatter that record, while putting themselves in position to snap a three-year playoff drought. Indy (27-21) enters Tuesday sixth in the East

Both players are having career-best seasons with a chance to join some elite company

• Haliburton (23.0 ppg, 12.3 apg) leads the NBA in assists and is on pace to post the highest assist average the NBA has seen in three decades (John Stockton: 12.6 in 1993-94)
• He can join Magic Johnson (2x), Kevin Johnson and Isiah Thomas as the only players to average 20+ points and 12+ assists in a season
• Sabonis (19.9 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 8.0 apg) leads the NBA in rebounding and double-doubles (41), ranks second in triple-doubles (13) and seventh in assists (second among centers behind Nikola Jokic)
• He can join Wilt, Jokic and Oscar Robertson as the only players to average 20+ points, 12+ rebounds and 8+ assists in a season

The Pacers beat the Kings without Haliburton (hamstring) on Jan. 18 in Sacramento. They’ll go for the season sweep tonight at home (7:30 ET, NBA App) with their All-Star conductor at the helm.

5. FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM JANUARY

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Steph vs. LeBron: Round 50

Wemby vs. Chet: The Future

Jokic vs. Embiid: The MVPs

Damian LiIlard: The Return

Luka Doncic: 73 Points for No. 77

Scottie Barnes

LeBron James