Is Jaylen Brown an All-Star starter? | NBA
The All-Star game 2020 was one for the ages with the all new format honoring Kobe Bryant. This year, the game has been postponed to a further date with the change in schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The All-Star Game showcases 24 of the league’s best players in a showdown with the top 2 vote getters as captains. Traditionally, the game was played between the East and the West with new changes being implemented in 2018 with LeBron and Steph leading the way as captains. The starting 5 for each team is chosen by a combination of a player, media and fan voting and the reserves are chosen by the coaches.
With the 2021 All-Star vote opening today, the fans, players and the media select 3 frontcourt and 2 backcourt players from the Eastern and Western Conference. The remaining 14 spots are filled by players selected by the coaches who act as the 7 reserves for each team. However, with the game having shifted to position-less basketball, there has been a lot of debate on the selection format. Consider the West. The west is packed with talented guards such as Curry, Lillard, Doncic, Mitchell, Murray, Booker, Wall, etc. but there are only 2 spots in the starting 5. One can see teams playing 3–4 guards in their lineup these days, for example, the Lakers playing KCP, Caruso and Schroeder along with LeBron and AD. Same is the case with the forwards.
The 6' 6" 220lb guard-forward Jaylen Brown has been on a tear all season long leading the team in scoring with 27 PPG. He has significantly upped his scoring average and has career highs in scoring, assists, steals, blocks and field goals made. He’s averaging 30 PPG in his last 5 games and has Boston as the number 5 seed in the east. With a PER of 25.8, he’s 9th in the league and is number 7 in scoring. Brown deserves to be a first time All-Star star this year. Additionally, he has proven to be a lockdown defender with the ability to guard anyone from positions 1 through 4 and a great two-way player in the last couple of years. If he isn’t voted in, the voting system is flawed. Breaking into the starting lineup may be in question but it’s definitely a possibility. I feel he is right up there with a deserving starting 5 spot.
My starting lineup for 2021:
East: Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Bradley Beal
West: LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
