NBA Announces 2025 All-Star Reserves
The 2025 NBA All-Star reserves were revealed on Thursday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA broadcast and officially confirmed by the league (Twitter links).
Fourteen players will join the 10 starters announced last week in the All-Star Game in San Francisco on Feb. 16.
All-Star reserves were selected by the league’s head coaches. Here are the players who made the cut:
Eastern Conference reserves:
- Guard: Cade Cunningham, Pistons
- Guard: Damian Lillard, Bucks
- Guard: Darius Garland, Cavaliers
- Guard: Tyler Herro, Heat
- Frontcourt: Jaylen Brown, Celtics
- Frontcourt: Evan Mobley, Cavaliers
- Frontcourt: Pascal Siakam, Pacers
The East features three first-time All-Stars in Cunningham, Herro and Mobley. The guard spots in the East were highly contentious, with Atlanta’s Trae Young, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey among those also in the running. Ball finished first in fan voting, but that had no bearing on the coaches’ decisions.
The Cavaliers are well-represented in San Francisco, with Donovan Mitchell named a starter last week and Garland and Mobley now joining him. This is Garland’s second All-Star nod after being named in the 2021/22 season. Jarrett Allen also had a shot at a spot, but ultimately wasn’t voted in.
This is Jaylen Brown‘s fourth All-Star appearance, Lillard’s ninth, and Siakam’s third.
Western Conference reserves:
- Guard: Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
- Guard: James Harden, Clippers
- Frontcourt: Anthony Davis, Lakers
- Frontcourt: Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies
- Frontcourt: Alperen Sengun, Rockets
- Frontcourt: Jalen Williams, Thunder
- Frontcourt: Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Wembanyama, Sengun and Williams are each first-time All-Stars. The reigning Rookie of the Year, Wembanyama has taken several steps forward to help the Spurs to a 20-24 record, putting them in contention for a play-in spot. Meanwhile, Sengun and Williams are key contributors for the top two seeds in the conference.
Edwards, in his third overall and consecutive appearance, is having a career year from beyond the arc, connecting on 41.8% of his 9.8 three-point attempts. We wrote earlier today about how the Grizzlies view Jackson as a bona fide star amid their 31-16 record this season.
Veterans Harden and Davis round out the West reserves. Harden, the most decorated reserve, is making his 11th appearance in the game while averaging 21.7 points and 8.4 assists per game in his age-35 season. Davis continues to be one of the premier defensive players in the league en route to earning his 10th All-Star nod. The Lakers big man is currently injured and out at least one week, but it’s unclear if that would affect his availability for the All-Star Game, which is still more than two weeks out.
Fresh off making the NBA Finals last season, the Mavericks won’t have a representative in the All-Star Game, with Luka Doncic injured and Kyrie Irving not earning a spot. The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis, the Clippers’ Norman Powell, the Suns’ Devin Booker and the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox were among those who were not named to the team.
Pacific Notes: Wiggins, Looney, Payton, Hayes, Bronny, Clippers
Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II have all been mentioned as potential trade candidates. The Warriors‘ trio put on a show on Wednesday as the team upset Oklahoma City, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic notes. They combined for 60 of Golden State’s 116 points.
Afterward, Wiggins and Looney indicated they’d like to stay put.
“Sometimes it can be disappointing if you want to stay,” Wiggins said. “If you enjoy things somewhere. Your family is here. You got relationships. So it’s not easy. It’s a business.”
“Yeah, I want to stay,” Looney said. “I know what the game is. I’ve been here long enough. My locker mate’s changed a lot of times. It might be my time. Who knows? That’s the NBA. I definitely will not be sleeping that night, whenever that time is for the trade deadline. I’m gonna be up.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes will make his fourth start of the season against Washington on Thursday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. Hayes will fill in for Anthony Davis, who’s out at least a week with an abdominal strain. Hayes will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
- Bronny James received some first-half minutes against Philadelphia on Tuesday and it didn’t go well, Lakers coach JJ Redick admits. The rookie missed all five of his field goal attempts, committed three turnovers and was targeted at the defensive end. “Maybe put him in a tough spot,” Redick said, per McMenamin. “Flying up yesterday, nationally televised game in Philly and all that stuff. He didn’t play well, but he’s been playing great in the stay-ready games, and he’s been playing great in the G [League].”
- The Athletic’s Law Murray breaks down the Clippers’ roster into tiers as the trade deadline approaches. He lists Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac as the only untouchables — in Zubac’s case, he signed an extension in September which makes him ineligible to be dealt this season.
And-Ones: R. Miller, NBC, I. Thomas, Trade Deadline
Longtime TNT Sports analyst Reggie Miller has agreed to join NBC as one of the company’s lead NBA color commentators for the 2025/26 season, according to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, who reports that Miller is expected to work alongside play-by-play men Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle on NBC broadcasts.
When the NBA’s new media rights deals take effect later this year, NBC will return as one of the league’s broadcasting partners while TNT will no longer have the right to broadcast games, so it makes sense that Miller – who been part of a broadcasting team with Kevin Harlan for many years – is making the leap.
As Glasspiegel outlines, the plan is for Miller and Jamal Crawford, who has also reached a deal with NBC, to rotate as the network’s lead game analysts. The two former NBA shooting guards will each get the opportunity to work with both Tirico and Eagle.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- When Isaiah Thomas joined the Salt Lake City Stars last March, he scored 30 or more points in each of his first four G League games, earning an NBA call-up with Phoenix. After rejoining the Jazz’s G League affiliate this week, the veteran guard got off to another hot start, racking up 40 points and eight assists on Tuesday in a loss to the Valley Suns, per an Associated Press report. Thomas continues to seek another NBA opportunity.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insider link) weighs in on the best possible fits for 10 rumored trade candidates, including Jordan Clarkson (Lakers and Magic), Chris Boucher (Clippers), and Jonas Valanciunas (Lakers and Knicks). Meanwhile, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares some of the trade ideas he’d like to see come to fruition, such as Lonzo Ball to Detroit, a Patrick Williams/Jusuf Nurkic swap, and a three-team deal that gets both the Cavaliers and Warriors out of tax territory.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) has shared his massive pre-deadline trade guide, breaking down the NBA’s 30 teams into seven tiers, including “the true dealmakers,” “megadeal facilitators,” and “bottom-line watchers,” among others. Marks’ guide, which features analysis, trade ideas, draft assets, and cap details for every team, comes highly recommended if you’re an ESPN subscriber.
Scotto’s Latest: Clippers, Boucher, Brown, Nurkic
The Clippers are currently operating about $2.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and would like to duck below that line at the trade deadline, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
That’s not surprising, given that the Clippers were a taxpayer in each of the previous four seasons and are now subject to repeater taxpayer penalties. Getting out of tax territory wouldn’t just save them from paying repeater rates in 2024/25 — it would also be the first step toward resetting the repeater clock for future seasons.
Clippers forward P.J. Tucker and guard Bones Hyland are the team’s two most obvious trade chips in any cost-cutting deal. Both players are on expiring contracts, with Tucker – who has been away from the team – earning $11.5MM, while Hyland – who has had a very limited role – making $4.2MM. Scotto classifies both players as “available,” which feels like an understatement. i don’t expect either player could be moved without a sweetener.
According to Scotto, a best-case scenario for the Clippers would be to duck the tax while also adding a backup big man to fortify their depth chart. If they’re able to create an open spot on their 15-man roster and have enough room below the tax, second-year forward Jordan Miller remains a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, as Scotto previously reported.
Scotto adds that the Clippers are looking to avoid taking on any contracts that run beyond 2025/26, since they’re prioritizing cap flexibility for the summer of ’26.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- The Nuggets, Clippers, and Knicks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Scotto reports. Boucher is on an expiring $10.8MM contract.
- Scotto confirms that Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who has a $23MM expiring contract, is a candidate to be included in a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade, as has been previously reported. There are a number of playoff-caliber teams hoping that Brown ends up being bought out after the deadline instead, Scotto adds.
- The Suns are exploring the possibility of attaching one of their newly acquired first-round picks to center Jusuf Nurkic in order to land a quality rotation player via trade, sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto says Phoenix doesn’t view Nurkic as a salary dump and believes he’ll have more value on the trade market in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract. While I agree he may be easier to move in the summer, it’s hard to imagine Nurkic having positive or even neutral trade value at that point due to his $19.4MM cap hit for 2025/26.
L.A. Notes: Vanderbilt, Lakers, Harden
Playing his first game of the season after undergoing offseason surgeries on both feet, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt injected Los Angeles with a shot of adrenaline, observes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. The Kentucky product made an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball in his 12 minutes of action in a 118-108 victory over Golden State on Friday.
“Vando was awesome,” first-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick said. “Did all the things that we need him to do.”
Vanderbilt scored just two points on 1-of-2 shooting from the field, but he collected four rebounds and three steals while handing out two assists.
“I knew I might be a little rusty coming in and as far as rhythm and knowing the plays and all that stuff,” Vanderbilt said. “So my main goal was just to go in there and play hard. Bring the energy and then everything else — just control the controllable and everything else will play its hand.”
Vanderbilt has played sparingly since inking a four-year, $48MM contract extension with the Lakers in the summer of 2023. That deal just kicked in this season. The 6’8″ forward missed all but 29 games in 2023/24, and sat out for L.A.’s first 42 bouts this year. But Saturday’s performance was a reminder of what he can bring to the team when healthy.
“It looked like he didn’t miss a beat,” teammate LeBron James said. “I mean, he’s flying around. What he does don’t even always show up in the box score.”
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
- Vanderbilt’s return has given the Lakers some additional optionality as the NBA’s February 6 trade deadline approaches, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. At 25-18, Los Angeles is firmly in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race. Players like Vanderbilt have mid-sized contracts that could be movable — alternately, Vanderbilt’s return to the court could improve L.A.’s ceiling on its own. Buha notes that the Lakers have significant draft equity they could leverage in trades, but wonders what kind of appetite the front office will have for sacrificing future assets.
- Clippers star guard James Harden racked up 40 points in L.A.’s 127-117 victory over the Bucks on Saturday night, but it was the savvy plays beyond his scoring that helped the Clippers register a big win, per The Athletic’s Law Murray. As Murray details, Harden managed to control the ball (he had just one turnover) and played enthusiastic defense on Milwaukee All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- In case you missed it, the Clippers have relied on their depth beyond star players Harden and the oft-injured Kawhi Leonard to help L.A. secure a 26-19 record on the season so far.
L.A. Notes: Clippers, Harden, Davis, Hachimura
The Clippers are built around their stars, but they also have a deep roster that’s capable of competing when their top players aren’t available, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. With six rotation members sidelined against the Celtics on Wednesday, L.A. managed to take the game into overtime before falling to the defending champions.
“We have four starters out and to be able to come out with the team that we had just shows how deep we are,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “It just shows you that guys deserve opportunities to play, but you can’t play 15 players. And so, it’s hard. But it definitely shows the job that (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank and (general manager) ‘Red’ (Trent Redden) and (assistant GM) Mark Hughes putting a team together that’s deep, that can step up and play when guys are out and we were able to see that tonight.”
Derrick Jones Jr., who signed with the Clippers over the summer after an NBA Finals run in Dallas, said he tries to create a “next man up” mentality among the team’s younger players so they’re ready when needed. That was evident against Boston as Kevin Porter Jr. scored 26 points and Amir Coffey added 24 as they both got a rare chance to start.
“I always tell ’em to be aggressive, be who you are. You are on the team for a reason, you in the NBA for a reason, so just go out there and be who you are,” Jones said. “Don’t shy away from no pressure, don’t shy away from no opportunity. Just go out there and take it in full force.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- James Harden returned to the Clippers‘ lineup on Thursday and notched his 79th career triple-double, passing Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time list, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “It means a lot, just impacting the game in other ways,” Harden said. “Scoring is one thing, but rebounding the basketball, facilitating is another thing. And just impacting the game. You don’t get to be the best player on the court by just scoring the basketball every single night. Obviously that helps, but there’s other ways to impact games and you’ve seen it throughout the course of history of the NBA. I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
- Lakers management is paying attention to Anthony Davis‘ request for another big man, Shams Charania of ESPN said on tonight’s NBA Countdown (Twitter video link). Charania expects the front office to be aggressive in shopping its first-round picks for 2029 and 2031 to try to add another piece or two before the deadline.
- Lakers forward Rui Hachimura is missing tonight’s game against Golden State due to left calf soreness, tweets Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Jarred Vanderbilt made his season debut after recovering from offseason surgery, but coach J.J. Redick said Hachimura’s absence won’t affect Vanderbilt’s minutes, relays Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Dorian Finney-Smith got the start in place of Hachimura.
Trade Rumors: Turner, Heat, Brown, Raptors, Clippers
Asked on a live stream on Friday whether the Pacers might be open to trading center Myles Turner, who is on an expiring contract, Jovan Buha of The Athletic (YouTube link) said he has heard a “little bit of chatter” about that possibility.
However, based on his wording, it sounds like Buha is just referring to speculation from rival executives who are curious about whether Indiana will be able to pay Turner in free agency this summer, rather than any concrete signs the club is considering making him available. The 28-year-old won’t become eligible for an extension before reaching unrestricted free agency in July, so if Indiana isn’t confident about its ability to re-sign him, hanging onto him would carry the risk of losing him for nothing in the summer.
I’d be very surprised if the Pacers entertain the idea of trading Turner by February 6, given that he’s the starting center on a team that has played its best basketball of the season in recent weeks (9-2 in January).
Still, it’s worth noting that Indiana’s front office showed a year ago that it’s willing to trade a regular contributor if the team doesn’t expect to be able to sign him beyond the current season. After he turned down an extension offer from the Pacers, Buddy Hield was shipped to Philadelphia at last season’s deadline, despite the fact that he was averaging 25.7 minutes per game and had started 28 of 52 contests for Indiana.
Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- Within his latest dispatch at The Stein Line (Substack link), Jake Fischer explores what the Heat are looking for in a Jimmy Butler trade, reiterating a few points that have been reported elsewhere, including the fact that Miami is prioritizing cap flexibility and short-term contracts, as well as players who can help the team make the playoffs this season.
- To that end, Fischer cites sources who say that the Heat have registered some interest in Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who is on a $23MM expiring contract, and confirms that Toronto is widely viewed as a team interested in facilitating a larger deal. “They want to get involved in any Jimmy Butler trade,” one rival general manager told Fischer. Wizards guard Malcolm Brogdon, who is on an expiring $22.5MM contract, is another example of the type of proven veteran on a favorable contract who might appeal to Miami, Fischer adds.
- After creating some cap flexibility last offseason when they let Paul George walk in free agency, the Clippers remain “keen on keeping their books clean,” according to Fischer, who says the team has conveyed to rivals that it’s not eager to take on long-term salary in pre-deadline trades.
- The Athletic’s NBA writers take a closer look at all 30 teams, considering whether the best approach to the deadline for each of those clubs is to buy, sell, or stand pat.
Pacific Notes: Durant, Leonard, Zubac, Post, Schroder, Hield
The Suns’ pursuit of Jimmy Butler has been big news for weeks in NBA circles. They also acquired center Nick Richards last week and made a draft-pick trade with Utah this week, seemingly with an eye toward additional deals.
The best thing the Phoenix players can do is tune out all the trade chatter, Kevin Durant told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
“It’s just a part of the game now,” Durant said. “We know it’s important. The locker room is sacred. The bus is sacred. Hotel, walkthrough, all that stuff is sacred. It’s stuff we don’t talk about. It’s a brotherhood in here, but we know the noise is going to always be going on around us. As much as we can bunker down and focus on one another, the better we are as a group.
“It’s a business, though. We understand it’s a business. Anything can happen in this business. We traded one our brothers, Josh (Okogie) to Charlotte and that happened pretty quickly. We’ve just got to focus on in one one another and keep grinding.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers almost defeated the Celtics without four of their starters on Wednesday. Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac all sat out, yet they took the Celtics to overtime (story via The Associated Press). Leonard sat out due to right knee injury management but he has shown flashes of his old self in recent games. He scored 19 efficient points in 24-plus minutes against the Lakers on Sunday. “I’m happy with the progress,” Leonard told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “For me, it’s just about how I’m feeling and I’m coming out of the games feeling great. But I still got work to do and we’re going to keep taking each step.”
- Zubac, who missed Wednesday’s game due to an eye injury, is averaging a career-best 15.0 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per night. He’s been a steadying force with Leonard sidelined most of the season. “I’ve been confident in my game. I always knew what I could do. It was just not my role (previously),” Zubac told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register.
- Warriors two-way player Quinten Post got some court time on Wednesday, contributing five points and six rebounds in 15 minutes, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. Coach Steve Kerr says he’ll continue to hunt opportunities to play Post, as he gives the offense a different look with his ability to help spread the floor. Kerr moved Dennis Schröder to the bench in favor of Buddy Hield, who contributed 17 points in 25 minutes. Schröder, who had started in his first 17 games since being acquired from Brooklyn, had seven points and five assists in 21 minutes. Kerr wants Schröder on the floor when Stephen Curry is getting a rest and also likes the chemistry between Curry and Hield, Youngmisuk adds in another tweet.
Community Shootaround: Western Conference Playoff Race
Of the 15 teams in the Western Conference, only two are clearly focused more on the 2025 draft lottery than the 2024/25 standings. The 10-31 Jazz and 14-28 Trail Blazers don’t have realistic postseason aspirations this season, with management prioritizing the development of young players and the possibility of landing another high draft pick.
Those two teams are sandwiching the 12-32 Pelicans, who definitely didn’t expect their season to play out like this. Plagued by injuries since top offseason acquisition Dejounte Murray broke his hand on opening night, New Orleans has won its past four games but likely dug too deep a hole in the first half to seriously vie for a play-in spot this season, even if the roster gets (and stays) fully healthy.
Still, that leaves 12 teams in the hunt for eight playoff spots in the Western Conference.
We can safely pencil in the Thunder for one of those spots — and it will almost certainly be the top one. At 35-7, Mark Daigneault‘s squad has a seven-game cushion on the next-best team in the conference.
The Rockets (28-14), Grizzlies (28-15) and Nuggets (26-16) round out the current top four in the West and appear well positioned to claim playoff berths. That’s not necessarily a lock, given how competitive the conference is — a single injury could be all it takes for one of those teams to fall back to the pack. But they’re in strong positions.
After the top four, things gets interesting. Here are the current Western Conference standings from five through 12:
- Los Angeles Clippers (24-18)
- Los Angeles Lakers (22-18)
- Dallas Mavericks (23-20)
- Sacramento Kings (22-20)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (22-21)
- Phoenix Suns (21-21)
- Golden State Warriors (21-21)
- San Antonio Spurs (19-22)
These eight teams are separated by a total of 4.5 games. The gap from No. 6 to 11 is just two games. A five-game winning streak or losing streak for any of these clubs could significantly change the perception of how their season is going.
To that point, as recently as January 4, the Kings were 12th in the conference at 16-19, while the Spurs were in eighth place at 18-16. A Sacramento hot streak and a San Antonio cold spell have resulted in those two clubs swapping places in the standings just seven games later.
The Spurs are probably a little ahead of schedule in their rebuild and didn’t necessarily expect to make the postseason this year, so if they continue to slump, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for them. But the rest of the clubs listed above had serious playoff aspirations this season. The Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks, Timberwolves, Suns, and Warriors are all spending into the tax on their rosters, and the Kings aren’t far off.
Barring a major collapse from one of the top four seeds, one of these clubs (or two, if San Antonio sticks around) will finish outside the top 10, missing out not just on the playoffs but on the play-in altogether. Two more will be eliminated in the play-in tournament and will fail to clinch one of the eight playoff spots in the West.
What happens at the trade deadline could go a long way toward determining how this race plays out down the stretch, but we want to know what you’re thinking at the halfway point of the season.
Which teams do you expect to finish outside of the top 10 in the West? Which teams will be eliminated in the play-in? Which clubs besides the Thunder are the most serious contenders to represent the conference in this year’s NBA Finals?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Windhorst: Recent ‘Uptick’ In Jimmy Butler Trade Talks
Jimmy Butler has appeared in two games for the Heat since his team-imposed seven-game suspension ended last week, but the front office hasn’t slowed its efforts to find a trade involving the disgruntled star. In fact, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link) that Miami has actually gotten more serious within the past few days about trying to get a deal done.
“Since Jimmy had his meeting with (team owner) Micky Arison on Thursday, there is no doubt an uptick in discussions around Jimmy Butler,” Windhorst said. “The Heat shifted into a new gear after that meeting.
“I even had a team on Friday call me and say… ‘Hey, we were just talking to a couple teams. We’re trying to dump a salary. And they all of the sudden had to end our phone calls to do something bigger, they said. What’s going on?’ And I go, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ But I speculate that it has to do with Butler. And not just a direct Butler trade, but three- and four-team trades. The point is, I do think the Heat are actually trying.”
The Heat still have over two weeks until the February 6 trade deadline to try to figure something out, and there’s reportedly no shortage of clubs expressing interest in potentially getting involved as facilitators in a three- or four-team scenario.
However, as has been well chronicled in recent weeks, moving Butler is a challenge due to his salary ($48.8MM), contract situation (he holds a $52.4MM player option for next season and reportedly wants an extension), and age (35). Many of the teams rumored to be most interested in the veteran forward, including the Suns, are most restricted in their ability to offer the sort of pieces Miami would want, including win-now players on short-term contracts.
Any Phoenix deal for Butler would almost certainly have to involve guard Bradley Beal, who has an even pricier cap hit than the Heat star and is under contract for two more seasons beyond this one, which isn’t appealing to Miami. That means the two sides would have to find a third team willing to take Beal, who in turn would have to sign off on the deal due to the no-trade clause in his contract.
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Suns still haven’t asked Beal for his thoughts about any potential trade. A source familiar with Beal’s thinking confirms to Katz that the three-time All-Star would consider waiving the no-trade clause for the right situation, adding that winning would be his top priority in that scenario.
When Beal was traded from the Wizards to the Suns back in 2023, he was also open to the Heat, as well as West Coast teams like the Warriors, Kings, Lakers, and Clippers, says Katz, but none of those clubs appear to be likely suitors at this point.