The NBA All-Star Game is getting a major makeover ahead of its 74th annual event on February 16th in San Francisco.
Thanks in part to diminishing effort in the showcase from the players and last year’s 211-186 debacle that saw the best players in the world launch 168 threes, Adam Silver had no choice but to make a drastic change. Instead of the traditional East vs. West basketball game, the 2025 All-Star Game will feature a four-team mini-tournament — three teams of eight All-Stars each and the winning team from the Rising Stars tournament, with each game being played to 40.
The new format is meant to spark genuine competition but has already received less-than-stellar reviews from some of the game’s biggest stars. For better or worse, the voting process will remain the same. A mix of fans (50 percent of the vote), players (25 percent), and the media (25 percent) will select the honorary starters.
The Timberwolves might not be near the top of the Western Conference standings like they were for most of last season. Still, Anthony Edwards is in prime position to make his third consecutive All-Star appearance. The coaches selected the fifth-year guard as a reserve in the last two seasons. Is this the year Ant finally breaks into the starting lineup?
Ant has steadily climbed the ranks of guards in the West since he broke onto the scene as a 19-year-old rookie in 2020. Rookies rarely get consideration for the big game, and the Timberwolves were so bad in his first year that there was no chance for Edwards in Year 1. In Year 2, Edwards led the Wolves to his first-ever playoff appearance and wasn’t far down the list of All-Star honorable mentions.
He finally broke through in Year 3 when he was selected to come off the bench for his first All-Star Appearance in 2023. Ant finished 13th in the fan vote with 274,739 votes. He fared better with the players (8th) and technically tied for 5th in media voting. However, he and everyone besides Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received zero votes. It was enough to make the squad in Salt Lake City, where he put up 12 points in 17 minutes in a losing effort for Team LeBron.
In 2024, Edwards flew up to fourth in the aggregate voting with more than a million fan votes (5th). He finished 4th in the player vote and 3rd in the media voting. In a season in which the Wolves finished as the 3rd seed in the West, Edwards finished behind Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Steph Curry. In the highest-scoring All-Star game, Edwards only scored four points in 12 minutes.
The Timberwolves have taken a step back as a team this season, but Edwards continues to rise as one of the best young players in the NBA. In his fifth season, Edwards is averaging 26.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game and shooting a career-best 42.2 percent from three on 10.2 attempts per game. Barring injury or a months-long slump, Edwards will make his third consecutive All-Star game. But what are the chances he can finally crack the starting lineup?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an early MVP candidate, averaging more than 30 points per game for the third straight season on the best team in the West. SGA is one of the most popular players in the league and received more than three million fan votes last season. Luka Doncic led the West in fan voting by almost one million votes last season. He’s averaging his usual near triple-double and coming off a run to the finals.
Steph Curry is having his worst season in more than a decade on a struggling Warriors squad but remains arguably the most popular player in the sport and will always garner fan and player votes. Ja Morant is back with a vengeance after missing most of last season.
His scoring is down, but Morant is leading the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently sit in second place in the West. Kyrie Irving, Devin Booker, De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Williams, James Harden, and Norm Powell all have All-Star caliber seasons in the stacked Western Conference. Only 4 to 6 guards from the West will make the final roster before accounting for any injury replacements, and the competition is fierce.
Edwards spent last season and the entire offseason building his popularity on and off the court. He led the Wolves to the franchise’s first appearance in the conference finals in two decades. Edwards had viral moments throughout the season, including the dunk of the year over John Collins and the bring ya ass comment to Charles Barkley when the Timberwolves forced and eventually won Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets.
He rolled out one of the most popular shoes in the game and became an international household name during the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Edwards will likely expand his fan voting totals from last season and could start pushing to the most popular players in the league.
His biggest obstacle is Minnesota’s play. The Wolves are 14-12, and Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks spanked them after a four-day layoff thanks to the NBA Cup. The Wolves are in 7th in the West and have a brutal schedule for the rest of December.
Edwards should be in no real danger of missing out on the All-Star game unless the Wolves crater and fall out of the Play-In race. But he will undoubtedly remain a reserve player unless he leads the Timberwolves on a run and they climb in the standings before voting closes in January. As disappointing as the start of the season has been, Minnesota is 6-2 since starting 8-10 and Edwards called them out for being soft. They are one good week away from hosting a first-round playoff series.
In all likelihood, Edwards will have to wait another season to break into the starting lineup of an All-Star game. He’s established himself as one of the 10-15 best players in the NBA but will need to find another gear to push into the top 5-7 and earn a starting spot. With the new format, Edwards could technically start for one of the three teams depending on who Shaq, Chuck, and Kenny choose during the inaugural draft. However, Luka and SGA will probably be named the honorary starting backcourt out of the West in February.