Three players the fans voted in as All-Star Game starters — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson — will all sit out the game in Salt Lake City due to ongoing injuries.
NBA Commissioner Adam Siver will name Pascal Siakam, De’Aaron Fox and Anthony Edwards as their replacements on the roster.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam have been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. pic.twitter.com/JEkb07WPYa
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 10, 2023
There are no surprises; all three are deserving and were considered snubs when the rosters were announced. Siakam has played in 43 games and averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6.2 assists a night, plus he’s a quality defender.
Joel Embiid, Ja Morant and Lauri Markkanen are moving into the All-Star Game starting lineup to replace the injured trio.
Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson will not play in the NBA All-Star Game due to injury. They will be replaced as starters by Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen and Ja Morant.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 10, 2023
More details ⬇️https://t.co/pIpy7Yt86X
While it would be fair to say Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis is more deserving of being a starter, Markkanen finished higher in the voting so he gets the nod.
There could be at least one more injury replacement player named. The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown suffered a facial fracture and, while it is not official yet (so no announcement has been made), it looks like he will be out for the annual exhibition.
The All-Star Game will take place on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. The entire weekend of events will be broadcast on TNT. This year the two team captains — LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo — will pick their teams playground style on the court before the game begins.
