Karl-Anthony Towns Makes All-Star Game

All of the NBA All-Star Game participants have now been announced, and while there are a few surprises the rosters look relatively close to what we expected. Thankfully, and mercifully, Karl-Anthony Towns was one of the reserves listed for the Western Conference. We’ll go conference by conference and examine the rosters.

Eastern Conference (starters in bold)

Kyrie Irving

Kemba Walker

Kawhi Leonard

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Joel Embiid

Bradley Beal — replaced by D’Angelo Russell

Kyle Lowry

Khris Middleton

Nikola Vucevic

Victor Oladipo — replaced by General Soreness

Ben Simmons

Blake Griffin

A few thoughts on this roster:

• I’m really happy for D’Angelo Russell. He’s had a great season, as has Brooklyn as a whole. He should’ve been in before the injury replacement, in my opinion, but at least he made it in anyways.
• I get the idea that you reward top teams, but I don’t think the right players are representing the Bucks and Raptors. It should’ve been Eric Bledsoe (Bucks) and Pascal Siakam (Raptors), in my humble opinion.
• Good for Vucevic. He’s been a good NBA player for a really long time, and it’s awesome to see him get this recognition.
• We all need Ben Simmons to shoot a three in the ASG. I don’t care if it’s only one, and I don’t care how badly he misses it. Just take one, please

Western Conference (starters in bold)

Steph Curry

James Harden

Paul George

LeBron James

Kevin Durant

Russell Westbrook

Damian Lillard

Klay Thompson

Nikola Jokic

LaMarcus Aldridge

Karl-Anthony Towns

Western Conference notes:

• Where is Rudy Gobert? I understand the team success of the Spurs, but I don’t see the argument for Aldridge over Gobert.
• The West, as always, is absolutely loaded. The talent discrepancy between the two conferences is on full display here. Guys like Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Luka Doncic would have comfortably been in if they were in the East, I think.

On Karl-Anthony Towns

This really is awesome for KAT. Despite what Chuck and Shaq may say, there’s no doubt that Towns has been one of the 12 best players in the West this year. He’s been absolutely dominant on the floor. The only thing he really needs to figure out is how to play without fouling.

It’s going to be great for the entire fanbase to be able to see the franchise cornerstone play in this game for the second straight year. With all that we’ve seen today, and recently in general, from young stars wanting out of their current situations, we’re awfully lucky to have KAT locked up for the foreseeable future.

I’m sure that KAT’s going to have a great time at the ASG, but it’s definitely going to be interested to see who his teammates are. If he ends up on the same team as Butler, hopefully KAT is still able to enjoy his time there. I wouldn’t be sad if Towns just happened to send a Butler shot into the fifth row. Just a thought there.