Kevin Durant secures 15th All-Star nod while the game itself raises eyebrows

The fans have spoken and Kevin Durant has been named as an All-Star starter.

Here comes the NBA All-Star Game, with all its lackadaisical effort and confusing setup. Set to take place on February 16 in San Francisco, it will be our first look at the new format. Yay? We’ll get into that mess a bit later. First things first. Who will be the starters?

The TNT crew made the announcement today, and, unsurprisingly, based on votes from fans (50%), current NBA players (25%), and a media panel (25%), Kevin Durant joins the starting unit, doing so as a front court addition from the Western Conference.

Durant is currently ranked 7th in the league in scoring, putting up an impressive 27.2 points per game for the 22-21 Phoenix Suns. His efficiency remains elite, boasting shooting splits of 52% from the field, 38% from beyond the arc, and 83% from the free-throw line. Night after night, Durant continues to showcase his unparalleled shot-making ability, effortlessly draining contested jumpers, pulling up from deep, and attacking the basket with precision. Even in his 15th season, he remains one of the most dynamic and reliable scorers in the league.

Kevin Durant is making his 15th All-Star appearance and the second one in which he has represented the Suns. He has won the All-Star Game MVP twice, doing so in 2012 and 2019. He currently ranked third in all-time All-Star Game total points with 268, trailing only LeBron James (434) and Kobe Bryant (290).

Durant had some choice words about the All-Star Game format when asked about it, expressing a bit of criticism.

“I absolutely hate it,” Durant told the media in December. “I hate it. I absolutely hate it. All the formats are terrible in my opinion and we should just go back to East-West and just play a game. I think we’ve been trying to bring that flare back somehow with the All-Star Weekend, but I think we just keep it traditional. We’ll see how this one works, you never know. I might be wrong. I’m just another guy with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works.”

Durant did comment about his comments a few days later, stating, “I probably should’ve said something else, to be honest. I can’t be going up against the league like that, but that was my opinion.”

If you need a reminder of how the All-Star Game is going to work this year — because, of course, they had to shake things up — here’s the rundown. This time, instead of the usual single game, they’ve turned it into a mini-tournament with four teams and three games:

Two Semifinal Games:

• Two teams will play against each other in the first game (Semifinal 1).
• The other two teams will play in the second game (Semifinal 2).

Championship Game:

• The winners from both semifinal games will face off in the championship (Game 3).

For every game, the first team to get to or pass 40 points wins.

Teams:

There will be 24 All-Star players. These players will be split into three teams named after TNT analysts: Team Chuck (Charles Barkley), Team Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal), and Team Kenny (Kenny Smith). These teams will be drafted live on TV, with the analysts picking their players.

Fourth Team:

There will also be a fourth team, called Team Candace. This team will be made up of the players from the winning team of the Rising Stars game, which features rookie players and NBA G League stars.

Prizes:

The four teams will compete for a total of $1.8 million. The winners of the championship will each get $125,000. The second-place team will get $50,000 per player, and the third- and fourth-place teams will each get $25,000 per player.

Devin Booker was not named a starter, leaving his potential selection as a reserve up in the air. A four-time All-Star, Booker is putting up impressive numbers this season, averaging 25.7 points (10th in the NBA) and 6.6 assists (19th). Since the Suns moved Bradley Beal to the bench on January 6, Booker has found his rhythm, averaging 28.7 points (4th in the league) during that stretch. However, his slow start to the season might hurt his chances, and the Suns’ middling 22-21 record could also work against him.

The reserves, chosen by NBA coaches, will be revealed on January 20.