Kentucky obliterates NBA record with seven former players in 2024 All-Star Game
The Kentucky Wildcats will be well represented in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game later this month.
The league announced the 14 reserves for this year’s event Thursday night, and nearly half of that list featured former UK players.
Devin Booker, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns were all selected as Western Conference All-Stars, while Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Maxey and Julius Randle were named to the Eastern Conference squad.
Those six players joined Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was chosen as one of the five starters for the Western Conference team last week.
That gave Kentucky a total of seven former players in this year’s All-Star Game. No college has ever been represented by more than four players in the past. UCLA had four players in the 1983 All-Star Game, and UK has had that number twice — 2018 and last year’s event.
Duke, with two selections, is the only other school with more than one pick this year.
“I’m so proud of our SEVEN record-setting Wildcats!” UK coach John Calipari said in a statement Thursday night. “From Tyrese earning his first selection to AD making the All-Star Game for the ninth time, each of these guys have put in the work to become some of the best in the league. Well deserved!!”
There are a total of 24 NBA players in this year’s All-Star Game, meaning UK will be represented by nearly 30% of the participants.
Maxey, who turned 23 years old in November, will play in the game for the first time. Davis, the national player of the year and star of the Wildcats’ 2012 NCAA title team, was selected for the ninth time. All seven of Kentucky’s selections played under Calipari, who is in his 15th season as the Wildcats’ head coach.
The 2024 All-Star Game will be played Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be shown at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
Going into Thursday night’s games, Gilgeous-Alexander, an All-NBA First Team selection last season and one of the top MVP candidates this season, was averaging 31.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists and league-leading 2.2 steals per game. He’s third in the NBA in scoring behind only Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic.
Booker, Davis, Maxey and Randle were also top 20 in scoring as of Thursday night, as was former Kentucky player De’Aaron Fox, who was not selected for this year’s All-Star Game. Davis and Adebayo were top 10 in rebounding, and Booker was 10th in assists per game. Davis was also fifth in the league in blocked shots per game.
In addition to Maxey’s first appearance and Davis’ ninth selection, Adebayo and Randle made their third All-Star Game, while Booker and Towns were both picked for the fourth time. Gilgeous-Alexander will play in his second game, and this was his first selection as a starter.
NBA head coaches were responsible for selecting the All-Star reserves, with each coach voting for seven players in his conference: two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at any position. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
The 10 All-Star starters announced last week were selected by fans, current NBA players and a media panel. Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote, with the players and media members accounting for 25 percent each.
2024 NBA All-Stars
A list of the selections for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis:
Eastern Conference starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks).
Eastern Conference reserves: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Julius Randle (New York Knicks).
Western Conference starters: LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder).
Western Conference reserves: Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Paul George (LA Clippers), Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves).
Three ex-Cats among Rising Stars
On Wednesday, the NBA announced the 28 selections for the 2024 Panini Rising Stars event, which will take place on Feb. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as part of All-Star Weekend.
Former UK players Oscar Tshiebwe (Pacers), Cason Wallace (Thunder) and Shaedon Sharpe (Trail Blazers) were all selected for the game. Wallace and Tshiebwe were teammates on last season’s Kentucky team — and Tshiebwe earned national player of the year honors with the Wildcats the year before that — while Sharpe spent a semester with the program during the 2021-22 season but never played in college basketball.
The Rising Stars player pool consists of 11 NBA rookies, 10 second-year players and seven G League players. The event will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games. It’s scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 9:09 PM.
