Predicting 2026 NBA All-Star reserves: LeBron James misses cut, Donovan Mitchell should have been starter
The actual reserves will be announced Sunday
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On Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, the NBA will announce the reserves for the 2026 All-Star Game. We already know the starters: Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić in the Western Conference; Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference.
The format of the actual All-Star Game will not be East vs. West. This season, it's the United States versus the rest of the world, with two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players.
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Brad Crawford
None of this is relevant for this exercise, though -- as usual, NBA coaches will vote in seven reserves from each conference. Just like with the starters, it's positionless.
Let's pretend that I'm an NBA coach (lmao). Here are my picks:
Eastern Conference
I put down the first five names without a second thought. Mitchell, who is scoring at a higher volume and with greater efficiency than ever before, was on my official ballot as a starter. Barnes' shooting has fallen off as the season has gone on, but he's been awesome at everything else and should be a lock for First-Team All-Defense. Porter has reinvented himself in Brooklyn -- he's now an offense unto himself, even though he's still doing the vast majority of his damage off the ball. Johnson has continued his evolution as the new face of the Hawks, averaging a triple-double in December and making the most of his increased offensive responsibility. Duren is not a go-to guy, but has taken a huge step forward as a scorer while reliably rebounding and protecting the paint for the East's toughest -- and, so far, best -- team.
After that, it was tricky. The Powell selection is not because it'd be a great story, but, man, what a great story! He was picked No. 46 in the 2015 draft, and he could make his first All-Star appearance in his 11th season at the age of 32. For a Heat team that desperately needed shot creation, Powell has been a blessing and an absolute bucket. He is averaging a league-best 0.503 points per touch, essentially duplicating what he did last year in a totally different system. I shudder to think where Miami would be if he hadn't fallen into its lap last summer.
If you'd have disqualified Siakam based on the Pacers' record, I get it, and I have a feeling the coaches might be with you. Porter's Nets aren't much better, though, and Siakam is definitely not to blame for the Pacers' lack of success. To me, it's not just the solid efficiency at high volume -- often in a treacherous offensive environment with more defensive pressure than he's ever seen -- that seals the deal. It's that, unlike most of the other candidates for this spot, there's nothing about his individual season to complain about. Siakam could have sulked through this gap year, but instead has played his ass off on both ends and repeatedly come up clutch for a team whose playoff hopes evaporated in November. His biggest problem is that he can't play every second of every game -- Indiana has been 15 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court than without him in non-garbage-time minutes, per Cleaning The Glass.
Honorable mentions/potential injury replacements: Bam Adebayo, Evan Mobley, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Derrick White, Kon Knueppel, Joel Embiid, Franz Wagner, Brandon Ingram, Josh Giddey
Western Conference
The competition is stiffer in the West, so this group will require a bit more explanation. In the case of Edwards, though, little needs to be said. I voted him in as a starter, and he's taken steps forward this year as a decision-maker, 3-point shooter and post scorer. Kawhi Leonard was a no-brainer for me, too, given that he's been perhaps the best player on the planet for the last six weeks or so and is averaging a career-high 27.9 points on a career-high 63.1% true shooting while defending like a maniac and hunting pull-up 3s.
Durant is 37 years old and logging 37 minutes a game for a Houston team that can't space the floor but has an elite offense anyway. He's uber-efficient from everywhere, as always, and has given the Rockets exactly what they wanted when they traded for him. As the season has progressed, they have become more reliant on him. He's as deserving of his 16th All-Star appearance as Jamal Murray is of his first. Murray should have been a lock before Jokić's injury, and his play since then has only strengthened his case. He's been one of the league's best shooters and most clutch performers this season, essentially doing the Playoff Murray thing from opening night onward.
Booker's numbers haven't changed all that much since last season, but everything else about his situation has. With Durant no longer in the picture and opponents throwing everything at him, Booker has upped his scoring on a per-possession basis with only a marginal drop in efficiency. He's compensated for a dip in 3-point accuracy by getting to the line at a career-high rate, and he's given several teammates the space they needed to have breakout seasons, leading the Suns to a 28-19 record, which precisely nobody saw coming.
The Wizards apparently don't regret trading Avdija, but Portland sure is thrilled to have him. Pressed into a much more ball-dominant role than anticipated, he has become the league's most prolific driver and one of its best foul-drawers. He turns the ball over too much and needs to improve his pull-up 3, but his production makes him the favorite for Most Improved Player. I think it should also make him a first-time All-Star.
I could have gone a few different ways with the last spot. In the end, I settled on Chet Holmgren, and I promise this isn't just an "OKC should have two All-Stars" thing. Holmgren has anchored the league's best defense and scored extremely efficiently. Holmgren is not the creator that Alperen Sengun or James Harden is, but he'll be in the running for DPOY.
Honorable mentions/potential injury replacements: Sengun, Harden, Jimmy Butler, Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Cooper Flagg
