The NBA All-Star game is scheduled on February but voting for the starters has already begun.
Despite all the arguments against it, Kobe Bryant will be an All-Star for the last time in his career. With more than twice the votes of the next player in line, the Lakers superstar is a shoo-in in the West. But who else will join him?
Bleacher Report names Stephen Curry as the other possible starter along with Bryant. There is no question that he is the best player in the league right now and he's leading the best team to an almost immaculate record.
Russell Westbrook is also a probable starter since Kobe Bryant was placed in the frontcourt category. His teammate and former MVP Kevin Durant is also on pace to be a starter alongside the LA Clippers Blake Griffin.
There's no argument for the starters as they will be voted in by the fans. Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs is the closest to catch Blake Griffin but there is no question between the two players-both will be All-Stars, it's just a matter of which one will start.
Choosing the other six reserves will be tricky. The West only has five teams with winning records (two teams, Rockets and Grizzlies are exactly at .500 at this writing) and it's assured that there will be players from teams with losing records.
James Harden, last year's MVP runner-up will most likely be chosen along with Anthony Davis. Most thought Davis will be voted in but the Pelicans losing record may have hurt his chances.
With eight players, this is where it gets tricky. Veteran writer Sam Smith of Bulls.com has interesting choices. He dissents with B/R over the Blazers' Damian Lillard. Smith thinks Lillard will be chosen because he is the face of his team despite their losing record, while B/R picks Chris Paul.
Smith points out that snubbing Lillard again would be bad for the fan base and CP3 is not having one of his best years. Both choose Klay Thompson to make it, though.
With two slots left for the frontcourt, Draymond Green is penciled in to be the third Warrior in. The last slot could be a toss-up between veterans Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Nowitzki may have the edge as the overachieving Mavericks have no representation yet.
Final predictions:
Backcourt: Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson
Frontcourt: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Dirk Nowitzki
Snubs: Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe, Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins