NBA All Star Rosters Announced

Its a gathering of the best talent in the game of basketball. February 18th, the best players in the NBA this season will gather at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to try and see which conference is truly the best one. This year, its going to be a little bit different. What the NBA is going to do this year is something that both the NHL and NFL have tried in past years. Team captains LeBron James and Steph Curry will be able to pick their teams from the list of players that have been selected to play in the game. Now conference designation does not matter, it's just the players will be picked and they will play. Here's the participants for this years game, based on the conferences they currently play for.

Eastern Conference
Starters
G Kyrie Irving Boston Celtics (5th ASG)
G DeMar DeRozan Toronto Raptors (4th ASG)
F LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers (14th ASG)
C Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers (1st ASG)
F/G Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks (2nd ASG)

Reserves 
G Bradley Beal Washington Wizards (1st ASG)
C/F Al Horford Boston Celtics (5th ASG)
F/C Kevin Love Cleveland Cavaliers (5th ASG)
G Kyle Lowry Toronto Raptors (4th ASG)
G Victor Oladipo Indiana Pacers (1st ASG)
F/C Kristaps Porzingis New York Knicks (1st ASG)
G John Wall Washington Wizards (5th ASG)

Western Conference
Starters
G Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors (5th ASG)
G James Harden Houston Rockets (6th ASG)
F Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors (9th ASG)
C DeMarcus Cousins New Orleans Pelicans (4th ASG)
F/C Anthony Davis New Orleans Pelicans (5th ASG)

Reserves
G Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder (7th ASG)
G Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers (3rd ASG)
F Draymond Green Golden State Warriors (3rd ASG)
C Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves (1st ASG)
F/C LaMarcus Aldridge San Antonio Spurs (6th ASG)
G Klay Thompson Golden State Warriors (4th ASG)
G/F Jimmy Butler Minnesota Timberwolves (4th ASG)

Of course this is now going to bring up some of the debate as to who got snubbed and who didn't. Andre Drummond has a bit of a reason to be upset. He'saveraging 14.3 points and leading the league with 15 rebounds a night. He's also turned into a facilitator as a key cog of the Pistons' offense with those numbers. And yes Porzingis and Embiid maybe putting up slightly better scoring numbers from their position, Drummond has his team playing well past expectations, keeping Detroit in a tight race with the 76ers and Knicks for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Lou Williams can make the exact same argument in the Western Conference as Drummond can in the East. Williams is averaging 23.3 PPG and is shooting at about 45% this year. He been a big reason why the Clippers are only half a game back in the West for that final playoff spot. Also worth noting that Paul George is missing the game for the 3rd straight year, but its not for a lack of effort. His numbers are down a little playing with Westbrook and Anthony out in OKC, but still they are very respectable. Considering the position he plays in a loaded Western Conference, he was going to miss. If he had stayed in the East, he would be playing in the game instead of Oladipo.

Otherwise the rosters look good for the All Star Game, one that should be fun to watch next month!