Celtics’ Jayson Tatum named All-Star starter for 3rd consecutive season

This season will be different from the previous four seasons in which Tatum has been named an All-Star starter. The NBA revamped its All-Star Game format this season, opting to hold a four-team tournament as opposed to the two-team format. The 24 All-Stars will be drafted by three teams, with NBA on TNT analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith each drafting one team. The fourth team will be the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge.

Joining Tatum as starters in the Eastern Conference are Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Bucks forward Giannis Antetkounmpo and Knicks big Karl-Anthony Towns. Warriors guard Steph Curry, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lakers forward LeBron James, Thunder forward Kevin Durant and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic were named to the five starters from the Western Conference.

Tatum is in the midst of another strong season and arguably playing the best basketball of his eight-year career. He is scoring 27.4 points per game, which is the second-highest mark of his career and the fifth-best mark in the league. His 9.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game are career highs, while his 1.3 steals per battle is the second best mark of his career.

Additionally, Tatum has an impressive 10.9 net rating, which is the fourth-best mark among 10 players named All-Star starters on Thursday.

Among the Celtics who were not named All-Star starters, Jaylen Brown was the closest to being named a starter. Brown finished sixth in the overall Eastern Conference poll.

Brown is seeking his third straight All-Star nod and the fourth of his career. His position in the starting ballot suggests he’s likely to get there, as there are three frontcourt spots and two wild-card spots available for him to take.

Brown has had another productive season, improving his scoring slightly to 23.2 points per game. game this season, while his 4.8 assists per match is a career high. But his 45.3 field goal percentage and 32.6 3-point percentage are career lows, and he has struggled since his return from a shoulder strain in early January.

Still, the Celtics appear to have two players on the All-Star roster given their 31-13 record entering Thursday’s game against the Lakers. Since they are second in the Eastern Conference by 2.5 games and have a 5.5 game cushion over the rest of the conference, teams in the Celtics’ situation typically have multiple All-Star players.

If Brown is not named an All-Star, Derrick White is likely the Celtics’ second best option to be named an All-Star. But he’s likely a long shot to earn an All-Star nod even though he’s averaging a career-high 16.1 points per game. match with 4.1 assists per match. He’s also playing great defense again this year, averaging 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. match.

The All-Star reserves will be named on January 30, selected by the coaches. The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be played in San Francisco on January 15.