Zach KramCloseZach KramZach Kram is a national NBA writer for ESPN.com, specializing in short- and long-term trends across the league’s analytics landscape. He previously worked at The Ringer covering the NBA and MLB. You can follow Zach on X via @zachkram. and Kevin PeltonCloseKevin PeltonESPN Senior Writer Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE systemFollow on XMultiple AuthorsFeb 1, 2026, 07:05 PM ET
LeBron James puts on a dunk show vs. Wizards (1:21)Dave McMenamin reports on LeBron James turning back the clock with 3 emphatic dunks in the Lakers’ win vs. the Wizards. (1:21)
Which player were you most surprised to see on the roster?
Which player were you most surprised to see left off?
Are we getting close to enough international All-Stars to do a normal USA/World 12 vs. 12 game?
Give us one bold prediction for the All-Star Game/mini-tournament.
As the calendar turns to February, the NBA All-Star Game is just two weeks away. The starters were announced Jan. 19 and include Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the West. Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Maxey were named the starters in the East.
The reserves were announced Sunday, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the West, as well as Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns in the East.
ESPN NBA Insiders Zach Kram and Kevin Pelton break down the full East and West rosters, including the biggest surprises and snubs, and they make their bold predictions.
Pelton: LeBron James is the clear choice, but seeing Karl-Anthony Towns added was surprising because his play this season has drawn a lot of pessimism, and the Knicks have been a bit disappointing. I think teammate Mikal Bridges has been New York’s second-best player after starter Jalen Brunson. Given Towns’ track record, the choice is certainly reasonable yet surprising nonetheless.
Pelton: Kawhi Leonard. He has been a top-10 player this season, and after a dreadful start, the LA Clippers have been one of the league’s hottest teams since Christmas. Anthony Edwards was the only West reserve I would have picked over Leonard. If I were taking a multitime Finals MVP playing in L.A., Leonard was an easy choice over James.
However, those players largely don’t have better All-Star cases than the ninth-through-12th-best Americans, so I wouldn’t advocate such a consequential change just yet. Let’s see how the format works with three teams (two American, one international) this year before deciding whether the NBA should change the All-Star format once again.
Pelton: The NBA enjoys a short-term benefit from changing the format. Drafting teams and introducing a target score (aka the “Elam ending”) resulted in more competitive games initially, before devolving into the defense-free play we’ve seen since. I could see the international team, in particular, taking things seriously and forcing their American opponents to up their game. However, I don’t see this or anything else “fixing” the All-Star Game long term.
Kram: There are almost enough worthy international players to round out a 12-person roster; if that were the framework this season, the eight actual international All-Stars would likely be joined by Sengun, Lauri Markkanen, Franz Wagner (despite a lack of playing time) and Joel Embiid. (Embiid was born in Cameroon but plays for Team USA internationally; the NBA could also choose to slot Towns, who was born in New Jersey but plays for the Dominican Republic, as an international representative.) Josh Giddey, OG Anunoby and Dillon Brooks have outside cases as well.
Kram: Victor Wembanyama takes MVP honors. Big men rarely win this award at the All-Star game — it has gone to a guard or wing in 13 of the past 15 years, with Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the lone exceptions — but Wembanyama is so competitive that he’ll gain an advantage just by taking the event seriously. In his first All-Star Game last year, he led his team in scoring (11 points in seven minutes), and he and Chris Paul were disqualified for trying to exploit a loophole in the skills challenge.
LeBron James puts on a dunk show vs. Wizards (1:21)Dave McMenamin reports on LeBron James turning back the clock with 3 emphatic dunks in the Lakers’ win vs. the Wizards. (1:21)
Dave McMenamin reports on LeBron James turning back the clock with 3 emphatic dunks in the Lakers’ win vs. the Wizards. (1:21)
Zach KramCloseZach KramZach Kram is a national NBA writer for ESPN.com, specializing in short- and long-term trends across the league’s analytics landscape. He previously worked at The Ringer covering the NBA and MLB. You can follow Zach on X via @zachkram. and Kevin PeltonCloseKevin PeltonESPN Senior Writer Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE systemFollow on XMultiple Authors
CloseZach KramZach Kram is a national NBA writer for ESPN.com, specializing in short- and long-term trends across the league’s analytics landscape. He previously worked at The Ringer covering the NBA and MLB. You can follow Zach on X via @zachkram.
Kram: Alperen Sengun was a first-time All-Star last season, has improved as a defender and has better counting stats across the board this season while helping lead the Houston Rockets to the second-best point differential in the West. New Rocket Kevin Durant was a shoo-in, but I think Sengun should have given Houston a second All-Star representative, even if that meant Devin Booker missed out and the surprising Phoenix Suns didn’t get a player on the team.
CloseKevin PeltonESPN Senior Writer Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE systemFollow on X