An NBA All-Star Game without LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Steph Curry in the starting lineups seems unfathomable.
This may be the last season when all three are there, and the day is coming soon when all three are not All-Star starters.
It probably won’t happen this season but the day is coming.
All-Star starters, which are determined by fans, players and media, will be announced Thursday on TNT before the 7:30 p.m. ET Milwaukee-Miami game. In the most recent disclosure of All-Star fan voting results, James, Durant and Curry were starters, and the final tally will be close.
USA TODAY Sports NBA writers Jeff Zillgitt and Lorenzo Reyes make their case for starters:
Who should be the 2025 NBA All-Star starters?
Jeff Zillgitt’s All-Star starters
Eastern Conference
Backcourt
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, New York’s Jalen Brunson
Frontcourt
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns
The East is easier to pick than the West, and Cleveland, with its conference-best 36-6 record, deserves an All-Star starter. – Jeff Zillgitt
Western Conference
Backcourt
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards
Frontcourt
Denver’s Nikola Jokic, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis
Unlike NBA awards, players don’t need to meet a minimum games played for All-Star consideration. However, to draw a line somewhere and help determine who should start, it’s reasonable to pick an All-Star starter who has played in 80% of his team’s games. That puts Edwards in my starting five in the West. In the frontcourt, it came down to LeBron James or Davis, and Davis gets the slight edge for a better overall season. It was close, and the fan vote, combined with the player vote, might give the nod to James anyway, which would be his record 21st consecutive All-Star start. – Jeff Zillgitt
Lorenzo Reyes’ All-Star starters
Eastern Conference
Backcourt
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, New York’s Jalen Brunson
Frontcourt
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns
I’m aligned in thinking the East is far easier to project, though I will say that the two-guard crop was a little underwhelming and Donovan Mitchell is the clear beneficiary. Mitchell’s numbers — 23.3 points, 4.6 boards and 4.5 assists per game — are solid, but they’re all lower than his production from last season. – Lorenzo Reyes
Western Conference
Backcourt
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards
Frontcourt
Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis
I am bumping Davis in over Victor Wembanyama because AD has been a little more consistent overall. But, there’s no doubt in my mind, Wemby’s days as an All-Star starter are coming soon, and they should be here for some time. – Lorenzo Reyes
How are NBA All-Star starters chosen?
Starting in 2017, NBA All-Star starters have been selected by a weighted vote from fans (50%), NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). From each conference, there are two backcourt starters and three frontcourt starters. If there’s a tie, the fan vote is the tiebreaker.
Per the NBA, ‘the formula to determine a player’s score is (Fan Rank * 2 + Player Rank + Media Rank)/4.’ For example, if Player A is second in fan voting, third in player voting and third in media voting, his weighted score is 2.5.
Last year, Damian Lillard and Brunson were tied for second with a weighted score of 3.75, but because Lillard was No. 3 in fan voting and Brunson No. 5, Lillard got the starting nod.
The All-Star Game is scheduled for Sunday, February 16, in San Francisco.