The Field
Three frontcourt players will start for the Eastern Conference and at least three others will be selected by the coaches as reserves. The three frontcourt players who can be tentatively written in as locks are Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, and LeBron James.
From there, it’s all a matter of who can secure the final three or four spots amongst the All-Star reserves.
Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond is a safe bet, as is Chicago Bulls guard turned forward Jimmy Butler. That could leave just one or two spots available for the remaining players to compete for.
Beyond those stars, however, is a list of frontcourt players who are just as much of an unknown as New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis will be competing with multi-time All-Stars in Al Horford, Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, and Paul Millsap. He’ll also have his hands full with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Serge Ibaka, Brook Lopez, Jabari Parker, Jonas Valanciunas, Nikola Vucevic, and Hassan Whiteside.
The important note about every one of the players listed: they’re either coming off of a down year, have yet to make an All-Star Game appearance, or don’t come close to qualifying as a lock.
The door is open for Porzingis to become an All-Star in 2016-17.