Monthly data from the NBA begets the fruitless (and slightly masochistic) tradition of ranking players. This post won’t rank players in the typical sense—in, say, an ordered list. Rather, I’m continuing a series I’ve done each of the past two seasons in which I update my All-Star ballot continuously throughout the season. (Read introductory editions for 2021 and 2022 for list structure.) Now, with 13-16 games under the healthy stars’ belts, I’m slightly comfortable indulging myself in this kind of thing. Leave your criticisms in the comments!

Tier 1

Regardless of positional constraints, these players are performing at All-Star levels. (The lower bound of their estimated value matches or exceeds All-Star “level.”) To argue otherwise may earn you the label of a basketball heretic.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (East)
• Devin Booker (West)
• Jimmy Butler (East)
• Stephen Curry (West)
• Anthony Davis (West)
• Luka Doncic (West)
• Kevin Durant (East)
• Joel Embiid (East)
• De’Aaron Fox (West)
• Paul George (West)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (West)
• Tyrese Haliburton (East)
• James Harden (East)
• LeBron James (West)
• Nikola Jokic (West)
• Damian Lillard (West)
• Donovan Mitchell (East)
• Ja Morant (West)
• Pascal Siakam (East)
• Jayson Tatum (East)
• Karl-Anthony Towns (West)
• Myles Turner (East)

Tier 2

These players have a larger margin of error associated with their status as All-Star performers. I’d consider these guys to be strong candidates. Whether or not they make the ballot is, in large part, determined by the NBA’s talent distribution at the top and positional constraints.

• Bam Adebayo (East)
• Jarrett Allen (East)
• Jaylen Brown (East)
• DeMar DeRozan (East)
• Darius Garland (East)
• Rudy Gobert (West)
• Draymond Green (West)
• Jrue Holiday (East)
• Brandon Ingram (West)
• Kyrie Irving (East)
• Brook Lopez (East)
• Chris Paul (West)
• Domantas Sabonis (West)
• Zion Williamson (West)
• Trae Young (East)

The Ballot

You know the rules: 5 starters (2 frontcourt, 3 backcourt); 5 reserves (2 frontcourt, 3 backcourt); and 2 wild cards (position negligible). Rosters for both the Eastern and Western Conference.

Eastern Conference

• James Harden
• Donovan Mitchell
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Kevin Durant
• Joel Embiid

• Darius Garland
• Tyrese Haliburton
• Jimmy Butler
• Pascal Siakam
• Jayson Tatum

• Kyrie Irving
• Myles Turner

Western Conference

• Stephen Curry
• Luka Doncic
• Anthony Davis
• Nikola Jokic
• Karl-Anthony Towns

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Ja Morant
• Paul George
• LeBron James
• Domantas Sabonis

• Devin Booker
• De’Aaron Fox

Thoughts

The NBA’s talent distribution makes it increasingly harder to choose All-Stars in its current roster format. Before, I’ve done up to 4 tiers of players to be considered for All-Star, in which the gaps among tiers were fairly recognizable. But this year, I somehow managed to fill 37 spots in 2 tiers. (Hence, I omit the last 2 tiers.) Stat “inflation” is one thing to consider in which the values of counting statistics like points and assists are lower than in seasons past. But there’s also a clear distinction between current and previous talent distributions. Thus, it may be worth revising the definition of an All-Star. (For example, expanding the number of roster spots to 15.)

This season has legitimately been a fever dream. The Kings and Pacers have 2 All-Stars each (according to me). Brook Lopez and Myles Turner are officially on my agenda. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might be the box-score MVP if not for an impromptu Stephen Curry mega-explosion. (Curry is currently my MVP frontrunner.) At the end of the day, I’m glad doing this didn’t worsen my tension headache. Please leave criticisms below! I don’t watch every game or look at every stat.