LeBron James leads NBA in All-Star voting, ties Michael Jordan’s record

By Dan FeldmanJan 27, 2022, 8:31 PM EST

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

LeBron James missed the All-Star game as a rookie in 2004.

Starter-choosing fans voted him fourth at Eastern Conference guard – yes, guard – behind Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Jason Kidd. East coaches chose Kidd, Baron Davis, Paul Pierce and Michael Redd as reserve guards. Asked about hypothetically going as an injury replacement (that was never needed), LeBron disapproved.

“I wasn’t part of the ones that they picked at first, so I wouldn’t even like to be a part of the team if somebody didn’t go,” LeBron said. “I’m an only child and I never want to be picked second. I don’t come second.”

LeBron has frequently been picked first since.

Fans have voted him an All-Star starter the other 18 years of his career – half the time, including this year, with more votes than anyone else. LeBron ties Michael Jordan for most years leading the NBA in All-Star voting, nine.

That’s more than twice as often as anyone else. Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Julius Erving each led the league in fan voting four times.

LeBron has led the NBA in All-Star voting six straight seasons, a streak that covers the five years of All-Star drafts. The other captain is again Nets forward Kevin Durant, who led the East in fan votes but will miss the All-Star game due to injury for the second straight year. (LeBron’s injury sounds less serious.)

The 2022 NBA All-Star starters:

Eastern Conference

Guard: DeMar DeRozan (Bulls)
Guard: Trae Young (Hawks)
Frontcourt: Kevin Durant (Nets)
Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Frontcourt: Joel Embiid (76ers)

Western Conference

Guard: Stephen Curry (Warriors)
Guard: Ja Morant (Grizzlies)
Frontcourt: LeBron James (Lakers)
Frontcourt: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Frontcourt: Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)

All-Star selections, not starts, get remembered. Which puts the microscope on Wiggins. He’s the only starter who might not have made the game as a reserve.

By the time the Warriors acquired him from the Timberwolves two years ago, the former No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year on a max contact was considered a massive disappointment. Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Wiggins could thrive with the Warriors because “we’re not asking him to be a star.”

Well, Wiggins became a star anyway in Golden State by handling his duties in a smaller role and picking the right year to shine.

The Western Conference frontcourt race was wide open with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George injured. Wiggins finished third at the position in fan voting, which counts double the other categories. Media and players both ranked Warriors forward Draymond Green and Jazz center Rudy Gobert ahead of Wiggins. The media had Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns ahead, too.

With Wiggins in, everyone who was seriously in the running to start will likely make the All-Star game regardless.

Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Nets guard James Harden will probably get named reserves by Eastern Conference coaches. Ditto Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Warriors forward Draymond Green, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns and Jazz center Rudy Gobert by Western Conference coaches.

Suns guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker and Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell are also approaching lock status as reserves.

That’d fill the West roster before even getting to challengers like Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lakers big Anthony Davis, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Suns center Deandre Ayton, Mavericks big Kristaps Porzingis, Timberwolves forward Anthony Edwards, Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane and Clippers wing Paul George (who more likely would have been picked if not injured). Some of those players had better cases than Wiggins.

Durant’s injury opens the door for an extra East reserve – helpful, considering the conference’s depth of viable selections.

Beyond LaVine and Harden, Heat wing Jimmy Butler is closest to a lock as a reserve. But that should have been the case last year, and Butler wasn’t selected.

Most of the East’s top reserve candidates are guards: LaVine, Harden, Bucks’ Jrue Holiday, Raptors’ Fred VanVleet, Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, Cavaliers’ Darius Garland and Hornets’ LaMelo Ball. The pool is so deep, the Wizards’ Bradley Beal and Heat’s Kyle Lowry are barely even mentioned, though they could draw a little consideration. Unless coaches skew the league’s position designations – very possible – or other injuries open more slots, just five of those guards can make it (and it would have been only four if Durant didn’t get hurt).

The bar is lower in the frontcourt with three spots for Butler, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Pacers big Domantas Sabonis, Bucks forward Khris Middleton, Hawks big John Collins, Heat big Bam Adebayo, Hornets forward Miles Bridges or Hawks center Clint Capela. Unless any guards who can be considered forwards and take a frontcourt spot.

Who should make it as reserves in both conferences? We covered that here.

The reserves will be announced next Thursday (Feb. 3). Then, the All-Star draft will be held the following Thursday (Feb. 10).

LeBron – whose team has won all four All-Star games with captain-picked rosters – will again have the No. 1 pick in the All-Star draft as the overall fan-vote leader. He has said fans voting him into the game has motivated him to compete harder in the exhibition (last year excepted).

Still going strong, LeBron first led the NBA in All-Star voting in 2007. He narrowly topped Yao Ming, who was right in the middle of his NBA career and is already in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“That’s something I’ve never dreamed of,” LeBron said of his fan-voting title at the time. “I’ve always wanted to be an All-Star, but being the leading vote-getter over guys like Vince Carter, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson, you never think that’s going to happen. Just getting the opportunity to be the leading vote-getter is kind of unbelievable.”

All these years later, it’s no longer so unbelievable.

It has become the norm.

Malone’s message clear to Nuggets, ‘I don’t think we played well in Game 1’

By Kurt HelinJun 3, 2023, 8:19 PM EDT

DENVER — Game 1 was a coach’s dream in some ways for Michael Malone and the Nuggets staff.

They got three-quarters of dominating play — the Nuggets were up by 21 entering the fourth quarter — and they got the win. But they also have one quarter of struggling, sloppy play that gives Malone a valid reason to call guys out and have a candid film session.

“I don’t think we played well in Game 1,” Michael Malone said, despite his team picking up an 11-point win. “I watched that tape, and they were 5-of-16 on wide-open threes. As I told our players this morning, the fact that they got 16 wide-open threes is problematic, and if you think that Max Strus is going to go 0-for-9 again or Duncan Robinson is going to go 1-for-5 again, you’re wrong. The fourth quarter, we gave up 30 points, 60% from the field, 50% from three, 6-of-12 from the three-point line.”

Malone added he thought the Nuggets offense struggled in the fourth quarter because they didn’t get stops so they were constantly going up against the Heat’s set defense.

“That fourth quarter, you know, we came out in the flat,” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. “We had a great looks at the basket, we just didn’t knock them down. But we want to get into our offense a little bit earlier than like :14 seconds on the clock and just play normal basketball, our basketball.”

It was all part of a theme Malone wanted to drive home: They are still three wins from a title and those will not be easy to get.

“I told our players today, don’t read the paper,” Malone said (do any of those 20-somethings get an old-school paper?) “Don’t listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we’ve done something, because we haven’t done a damn thing.”

There were positives for the Nuggets to take away from Game 1, particularly on the defensive end.

“I think when you see the last game, us against Miami, in the first three quarters, they score 65, 68 points [Ed. note: it was 63]. I think that’s really amazing,” Nikola Jokić said. “And then you can see the fourth quarter, they scored 30-something. When we are collectively really good, then I’m really good [defensively], too. But when we are collectively not good, I’m not really good.”

Jimmy Butler had praise for Jokic’s defense.

“He moves his feet well. He’s constantly making guys make decisions whenever they get into the paint. Then his outlet passes from a defensive rebound are very, very elite; that, he’s been doing his entire career,” Butler said. “As much as everybody looks at what he does on the offensive side of the ball, he’s a hell of a defender, as well.”

“I think overall, I think Nikola’s defense has been a real positive,” Malone said. “I think you have to get past the eye test with Nikola because I think most people just think of great defensive players as a guy who is blocking a shot or just making a great athletic play. Nikola does it differently. He has a tremendous IQ. He’s got great anticipation. He’s got unbelievable hands for deflections, blocks. He’s got unbelievable feet for deflections.”

In the postseason, the Nuggets have held their own in the non-Jokić minutes and that continued in Game 1 — the Nuggets were only -3 in the non-Jokić minutes in that game (-1 in the first half and -2 in the fourth quarter).

“Defense,” Aaron Gordon said of the focus in non-Jokić minutes. “So, when he’s sitting on the floor we need to lock in on defense. That’s probably the most important, crucial aspect of the non-Nikola Jokic minutes because that’s how we get our offense, as well.”

In its last couple of series, the other team had to be aggressive with adjustments because the Nuggets were forcing them to. The Finals may prove a little different, we could see some defensive tweaks early from the Nuggets.

Denver’s offense is going to get points, if its defense can be as good as Game 1, Malone is going to have to look hard to find things before the Game 3 film sessions.

Heat look for ways to make Nuggets uncomfortable in Game 2

By Kurt HelinJun 3, 2023, 7:33 PM EDT

DENVER — One thing was clear from Game 1 of the NBA Finals: The Nuggets are not going to assist in their own demise the way the Celtics and Bucks did against the Heat. When Miami made their fourth-quarter run Thursday, the Nuggets showed poise, got the ball to Nikola Jokić, and got the comfortable home win.

If Miami is going to win Game 2 and, eventually, this Finals series, they have to make Denver a lot more uncomfortable.

The Heat need to be the team applying pressure.

“I think I’ve got to be more aggressive putting pressure on the rim,” Jimmy Butler said, echoing his comments after Game 1 when he didn’t get to the free throw line once. “I think that makes everybody’s job a lot easier. They definitely follow suit whenever I’m aggressive on both sides of the ball. So I have to be the one to come out and kick that off the right way, which I will, and we’ll see where we end up.”

Jokić only had to defend two shots at the rim in Game 1. The Heat want that number to go up exponentially in Game 2. To a man Heat players discussed playing with more “intention” or “force” on Sunday.

It would also help if they hit their jumpers.

The Heat as a team were 5-of-16 on open 3-pointers (using the Second Spectrum tracking data). Max Strus, Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin combined to shoot 2-of-23 from 3 in Game 1.

“We did see some things that we liked and we got some great looks, myself included,” Strus said. “We’ve got to knock those down.”

“In terms of the shooters, that’s pretty simple. Let it fly. Ignite. Once they see two go down, it could be three, it could turn into six just like that,” Erik Spoelstra said, snapping his fingers, when asked what he told his shooters heading into Game 2. “As long as we are getting those clean looks, that’s what matters.”

One of those shooters, Martin, was not at practice due to an illness on Saturday, but he likely plays on Sunday.

Another shooter the Heat could use is Tyler Herro, but his status remains “unchanged,” Spoelstra said. Herro has been out since fracturing his hand in the first round of the playoffs, although he is nearing a return. Spoelstra would not rule out Herro for Game 2, but he wasn’t making it sound likely.

The hard part of making the Heat uncomfortable is slowing Jokić, and just as important is not letting the Jokić and Jamal Murray pick-and-roll get flowing. Heat players across the board talked about needing to tighten up on the defensive end as they adjust the off-ball movement and the more untraditional style of play the Nuggets use.

“I think it’s an opportunity to learn,” Robinson said of going against the Nuggets offense in Game 1. “You watch the film, go to school on it, try to take away some things that you did well, and then certainly learn from some things that you can do better. I think in that sense there are some encouraging aspects of it.”

One thing the Heat have done better than their opponents in every round is adjust — Miami got better faster than the teams they beat along the way to the Finals. That won’t be easy against a Nuggets team with a strong coach and a high-IQ MVP in Jokić.

Expect a much more aggressive Heat team in Game 2. Whether that is enough to make the Nuggets uncomfortable remains to be seen.

Coach, front office moves update: Pistons make Williams hiring official, Borrego or Stotts to Bucks bench?

By Kurt HelinJun 3, 2023, 12:38 PM EDT

There are far from settled across the NBA in both the coaching and front office circles, with news still leaking out daily. Here’s an update on things which have come to light in recent days.

• The Detroit Pistons made the hiring of Monty Williams official.

“A week ago, I was not sure what the future would hold,” Williams said in a statement, referencing reports he had planned to take a year away from coaching. “But, after talking with Tom [Gores, team principal owner] and Troy [Weaver, Pistons GM], I was excited hearing their vision for the Pistons going forward. They had a thoughtful plan and I am so appreciative of the emphasis they placed on the personal side of this business. They showed tremendous consideration for me and my family throughout this process.

“They also showed a commitment to success and doing things the right way,” he said. “As we discussed the team and expressed our collective goals, I realized that this would be a great opportunity for me to help a talented young team and build a strong culture here in Detroit. This is obviously a special place with a deep basketball history, and my family and I are looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of this city and organization.”

Williams has a six-year, $78.5 million contract with the team and that reportedly could grow to more than eight years, $100 million if incentives are hit. He was brought in to help build a culture of defense and discipline for a franchise with some nice young players but many questions.

• Kevin Ollie, the former NBA player and UConn coach who was in the mix for the Pistons’ job before Williams was hired, will be on the bench in Brooklyn next season.

Kevin Ollie is joining the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 3, 2023

• While Adrian Griffin has not officially signed his contract as the new Bucks head coach, he is sitting in on meetings running up to the draft and has essentially started the job, reports Eric Nehm and Shams Charania at The Athletic.

More interestingly, The Athletic reports the Bucks plan to put an experienced, veteran head coach next to the rookie Griffin, and are speaking to former Hornets head coach James Borrego and former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. Bringing in an experienced staff to put around Griffin is the smart move, with what we saw this season with Joe Mazzulla in Boston as an example of why this is the smart path.

• The Wizards have hired former Hawks head of basketball operations Travis Schlenk to be the right-hand man next to new Wizards president Michael Winger. This is a quality hire. Schlenk was rumored to have questioned Atlanta’s trade for Dejounte Murray to put next to Trae Young — a move ownership wanted — and by mid-season he was pushed out the door. Having Winger and Schlenk in the Washington front office is a lot of brain power, the question remains will they be given true freedom by owner Ted Leonsis to make moves for the long term and not prioritize just making the playoffs? The Wizards have a big offseason coming up with questions about new contracts/extensions for Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis.

• Aaron Nelson, the training staff guru hired by the Pelicans away from the Suns in 2019 to help Zion Williamson and others, appears to be out of the mix in a restructured staff, reports Christian Clark at the Times-Picayune. Zion did not have a great relationship with Nelson, but the question is was Nelson the scapegoat for players issues beyond his control? From Clark’s article:

Williamson’s relationship with Nelson became strained during his rookie season. At different points, Williamson refused to work with him…

Brandon Ingram sat out 29 consecutive games with an injury the team described as a left toe contusion. Ingram kicked the back of a Memphis Grizzlies player’s foot in November. Two days after the injury, Pelicans coach Willie Green said Ingram was “day to day.” Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Ingram did not play again until Jan. 25 — exactly two months after hurting his toe…

Ingram has sometimes seemed unwilling to play through minor discomfort, to the point where some of his teammates have become frustrated with him over the past two years. The Pelicans thought they had solved their player care and performance problem by hiring Nelson. Four years later, Nelson’s time in charge of the department is over.

When the Pelicans have all their stars on the court, this is at the very least, a playoff team in the West and potentially a dangerous one. I’m not going to speculate on the internal dynamics of the Pelicans front office and training team, but after years of injury issues it’s fair to ask if this is a matter of the training staff, or is this on the players themselves?

Knicks’ Julius Randle undergoes ankle surgery, should return for training camp

By Kurt HelinJun 3, 2023, 11:51 AM EDT

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

The Knicks’ Julius Randle sprained his ankle with two weeks to go in the regular season. He returned from that in time to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and their massive front line in the playoffs, but he struggled in that series — 14.4 points a game on 33.8% shooting — and injured his ankle again in Game 5. He did make it back for the Heat series after missing Game 1 but was never fully himself.

Now, as he hinted at during the playoffs, Randle has undergone offseason arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Randle is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in the fall.

Randle had an All-NBA season, averaging 25.1 points and 10 rebounds a game, and was part of the reason, along with Jalen Brunson, the Knicks were the No. 5 seed in the East last season.

Randle’s name has come up in trade rumors, mostly with him going out if the Knicks get in the mix for a superstar who becomes available this offseason. If someone such as Karl-Anthony Towns or Bradley Beal hits the market and New York wants to be in play, sending out Randle — set to make $25.6 million this season, with two more seasons on the books after that — is the way to match salaries.

Randle should be healthy and ready for training camp for whatever team he is on come September.

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