Charlotte Hornets

Anthony Davis among All-Stars in Charlotte. NBA team he’ll represent is anyone’s guess

By Rick Bonnell

January 31, 2019 08:11 PM

Anthony Davis will be in Charlotte as an All-Star reserve. Whether he’ll still be a New Orleans Pelican is in question
Anthony Davis will be in Charlotte as an All-Star reserve. Whether he’ll still be a New Orleans Pelican is in question Jim Mone AP
Anthony Davis will be in Charlotte as an All-Star reserve. Whether he’ll still be a New Orleans Pelican is in question Jim Mone AP

Who knows what team he’ll represent by then, but Anthony Davis will be in Charlotte as an NBA All-Star.

So will Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Detroit’s Blake Griffin and 11 other elite players named Thursday during TNT’s pre-game show. The All-Star Game and a host of other related events will be in Charlotte Feb. 15-17.

By a vote of head coaches from the Eastern and Western Conferences, 14 players were added to the 10 named as starters a week ago. Those 24 players will be distributed into two teams in a draft Feb. 7, conducted by captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee bucks.

The seven from the Eastern Conference: Washington’s Bradley Beal, Griffin, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic.

Blake Griffin-Reserve (2).JPG
Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) will be in Charlotte as an All-Star reserve. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) will be one of the two All-Star captains drafting the two squads.
Paul Sancya AP

The seven reserves from the West: San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge, New Orleans’ Davis, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Golden State’s Klay Thompson, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Westbrook.

There will be at least one injury substitute named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, since Pacers guard Oladipo suffered a season-ending leg injury recently. Also, Davis has requested a trade off the Pelicans, so he could be moved to another team before the NBA’s Feb. 7 trade deadline.

The drafting of All-Stars will be televised on TNT at 7 p.m. Feb. 7. It will be a two-stage process: First, James and Antetokounmpo will divide up the eight other starters (including Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker). Then, the 14 reserves will be selected.

As the top overall vote-getter, James will get the first pick, then Antetokounmpo and James will alternate selections.

Rick Bonnell: 704-358-5129, @rick_bonnell

Rick Bonnell

Rick Bonnell is a sportswriter/columnist for the Charlotte Observer. He has been in Charlotte since 1988, when the NBA arrived, and has covered the Hornets continuously. A former president of the Pro Basketball Writers Association, Bonnell also writes occasionally on the NFL and college sports.

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