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The 2017 NBA All-Star reserves have been named, and neither Damian Lillard nor CJ McCollum were selected by the NBA’s coaches to join the Western Conference roster. Lillard is averaging 26.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game, while his backcourt mate is contributing 23.5 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Lillard becomes just the third player in the NBA’s history to not be selected in back-to-back years while averaging over 25 PPG in both of those seasons, after Purvis Short and Michael Redd. Portland’s sub-par record was likely a large factor in neither team making the squad.
The Eastern Conference reserves will be John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry, Paul George, Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, and Kemba Walker. They will join backcourt starters Kyrie Irving and DeMar Derozan and front-court starters LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Eastern Conference roster. Notable Eastern Conference snubs include Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade.
The Western Conference reserves will be Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan, and Gordon Hayward. The Western starters are James Harden and Steph Curry in the backcourt and Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant in the frontcourt to round out the roster. Aside from Lillard and McCollum, Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul (injured), Mike Conley, and Karl-Anthony Towns were also notable Western snubs.
Sixteen different Trail Blazers have made the All-Star Game since the franchise’s inception in 1970. Multiple Trail Blazers have made the team ten different times. No Blazer has been selected for the game since 2015, when both Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge where chosen to represent the Western Conference.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Charlotte, but due to North Carolina’s passing of the controversial “Bathroom Bill” in March of 2016, the NBA announced last season that the game would instead be moved to New Orleans, where it was hosted 2014. The game is scheduled for February 19 at the Smoothie King Center and will be broadcast live on TNT.