After naming the starters and the reserves for both East All Stars and West All Stars, the NBA has officially released the players who will be participating in their annual All Star Game festivities on February 19, 2017 at New Orleans.
A Twitter post by the league named Washington Wizards' John Wall, Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker, Boston Celtics' Isaiah Thomas and Utah Jazz' Gordon Hayward among "smalls".
Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, DeMarcus Cousins from Sacramento Kings and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks were also named among big men.
Joel Embiid is the only rookie that's part of this set for this Skills challenge. He led the now rampaging Sixers with his 20.2 points per game, 7.8 boards per game, 2.1 dimes per game and blocking 2.5 shots per game. His team is currently at 18-31 but is starting to show flashes of how deadly the team could be in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson is set to defend his throne as the three-point king against tough competition for this year's event. He will lead the cast led by Kyle Lowry from Toronto, Kyrie Irving from Cleveland, Wesley Matthews from Dallas, Kemba Walker from Charlotte, Nick Young of the LA Lakers, CJ McCollum of Portland and Eric Gordon from Houston.
As of posting, SB Nation posted that the Rockets' Gordon made the most threes so far among the participants this season with 166 via .422-percent clip. Thompson, son of former NBA player Mychal, ranked second with 149 around .403-percent shooting.
The rest are Lowry's 143 via .422-percent, Walker's 135 via .402 clip, Matthews' 129 threes around .381-percent, Young's 128 threes via .424 shooting percentage, McCollum's 120 3FGs made built around .421-clip and Irving's 102 made 3FGs via .395-percent.
Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon will spearhead the slam dunk competition this year. He will be joined by LA Clipper's DeAndre Jordan, Phoenix Suns' Derrick Jones, Jr. and Indiana Pacers' Glenn Robinson III.
Sporting News said that previous year's titlist Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly declined participating in the contest, losing the opportunity to get a three-peat for the crown.
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