The 2020 NBA Second-Team All Stars
Bradley Beal didn’t make the actual All-Star Team, but he leads our Second-Team All Stars. Who else joins him on the roster?
THE 2020 NBA ALL-STAR BREAK HAS COME AND GONE, and it was an awesome weekend of basketball celebration. The All-Star Game itself was competitive and fun, Aaron Gordon got robbed again, and the game, dunk contest, and three-point shootout all came down to the final shot. You can’t ask for much more than that.
There’s only room for 24 All Stars, 12 in the East and 12 more out West, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop there. We pick Second- and Third-Team All-NBA, so why not do that with All-Star teams too? There are only 75 starters in each conference, so just Second Team is already recognizing the 24th best guy in the conference. In other words, these guys rank in the top third among all starters despite missing the All-Star team. Here were last year’s East and West Second-Team All Stars, for comparison.
Let’s be very clear about one thing. I made my own 2020 All-Star selections, but we’re starting with the actual All-Star rosters and building our Second-Team choices from there. I’d have had Bradley Beal on my All-Star team all day every day, but he didn’t make it, so he headlines our picks here.
Let’s take a look at this year’s teams!
EAST STARTERS
Bradley Beal, Wizards
Beal was the one true All-Star snub. I chose him eighth among East options, so the coaches chose five inferior options over Beal. Domantas Sabonis?! Come on. Beal is a touch under 30ppg and the only real engine on a borderline top-10 offense, and Washington is the current 9-seed despite Beal being literally the only player on the active roster you cared about before the season.
Zach LaVine, Bulls
I had LaVine on my All-Star team too, though I’d have left him out if I did my picks again at the actual break. LaVine is a worse version of Beal in many ways. He’s four points and two assists a game worse with better shooting numbers and little defense. The difference is that LaVine is at the heart of a bottom-5 offense, so exactly how valuable is what he’s doing? Then again, he’s the only Bull with a positive OBPM, so how hard is it to put up good, efficient numbers carrying an entire offense?
Nikola Vucevic, Magic
Vooch was an All-Star last year, and it seems like everyone just kind of forgot he exists this year. Vucevic is probably 15% worse at everything this season but he’s still putting up 19/11 with quality defense as the clear best player on a playoff team. He might not be sexy, but he’s good.
Gordon Hayward, Celtics
Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum made the real All-Star team, but Gordon Hayward might be their steadiest all-around player when healthy. Hayward is their X-factor, and he’s finally healthy. On a roster that’s somewhat flawed, Hayward morphs into whatever is needed. He can run the offense, he rebounds well, and he can score when needed. He’s currently two threes and free throws from a 50/40/90 shooting season. Hayward has become a real bellwether for this team; in his 11 best Game Scores, the Celtics are 10–1. If Hayward plays well, the Celtics are untouchable.
Fred VanVleet, Raptors
I have only four clear Second-Team All-Star starters, but I’m happy to give Fred VanVleet the final spot. Eight months ago, Freddy went supernova for three weeks, seemingly coming out of nowhere to shoot Toronto to a championship. Now we know that was no fluke. VanVleet’s made 40% of his threes on 18 points and 7 assists a game with pitbull defense and has basically become Lowry Lite for Toronto. He’s second on the team in VORP, ahead of Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, and might end up the best free agent on the market this summer.
EAST RESERVES
Kyrie Irving, Nets
Kyrie didn’t get any real consideration for the All-Star team, but make no mistake about it — he’s been the best guard in the East this season, when he actually plays. It’s fun to hate on Irving, but the dude is putting up 27, 5, and 6 on nearly 50/40/90 shooting. His 7.3 OBPM leads the East — yes, including Giannis Antetokounmpo — and he’s second on the Nets in VORP despite playing 1000 minutes fewer than the starters.
Marcus Smart, Celtics
We’re selecting these guys in order, so that tells you how valuable Marcus Smart is to the Celtics. He’s the best defender on the league’s #3 defense and unlocks a lot of things for this team even without a true starting center. His shooting and offense have fallen off some, but he’s worthy of recognition, and yes, over a conspicuously missing Boston teammate.
Andre Drummond, Pistons/Cavs
Drummond is averaging 17 points and 16 boards, and that alone gets you an All-Star berth most seasons. So why did Detroit trade him for basically nothing? And why is he known for rebounding and defense, but the Pistons have a bottom-10 defense and are sixth worst in defensive rebounding? I continue to have no idea how valuable Drummond actually is… or isn’t.
Eric Bledsoe, Bucks
Bledsoe has quietly become one of the best active players to never make an All-Star team, though I think that’s about right. He’s a 15/5/5 guy that plays tough defense, yet I’m still worried how he fits on the best team in the league when the games really matter. We’ll see.
Devonte’ Graham, Hornets
Did anyone in the entire world have Devonte’ Graham putting up 18 and 8 this season? I didn’t even think Graham was a legit NBA rotation player, and suddenly he’s one of like 15 guys in the league with a deadly pull-up three, hitting 3.5 a game on 37% shooting. Granted, he’s too small to play any defense and makes a putrid 39% of his twos, so let’s not get too excited here, but he’s still been a revelation.
Duncan Robinson, Heat
Devonte’ Graham is fifth in the NBA in threes. Ahead of him are Harden, Dame, Buddy, and this dude. Holy sophomore breakouts! Robinson has been the league’s hottest shooter for five months. Do you realize he’s shooting 44% on 8.1 three-point attempts per game? We’ve seen exactly one season with that great of volume shooting ever, and that was Steph Curry. Robinson’s on pace for 290 threes. That would be the sixth most in NBA history and third most before last season. Every Duncan Robinson three-point attempt is worth 1.31 points right now, and he’s doing that on volume as a starter for an excellent Heat team that’s top-10 on offense — better than they are on defense — without many great offensive options. Might be time to recognize just how valuable Duncan Robinson has been.
Davis Bertans, Wizards
Strangely, Davis Bertans has been getting the recognition not many are giving Duncan Robinson. Bertans is a slightly worse-shooting version of him that rates lower because his team stinks and is worse than Robinson’s on both offense and (by far) on defense. He’s still been absolutely scorching all season.
EAST HONORABLE MENTIONS
The most shocking omission is Jaylen Brown. I’m not convinced Brown is as valuable as we’ve all come to accept. Yes, his shooting looks good — for now — but Boston has six regular rotation guys (the five you know plus Daniel Theis), and Brown rates as the fourth best offensive option and fifth best defender of that group, dead last among the six in VORP. Besides, does Boston really deserve five guys on our two All-Star teams?
I thought Malcolm Brogdon was an All-Star after 10 games, but whew has he fallen off. Brogdon put up 20/8 on 58% true shooting through November. Since then he’s fallen to 15/7 on 51%, struggling through injury. Spencer Dinwiddie is another huge splits guy. He ran up 25 and 7 a game with Kyrie Irving sidelined but they were inefficient volume numbers. He drops back to 16 and 5 with Irving and misses the cut. Derrick Rose’s three-pointer has receded to 31% but he’s still having his most efficient scoring year ever with his best two-point %, true shooting %, and per-36 scoring, kinda remarkable for a former MVP.
I really wanted to give Brook Lopez a nod for his elite D that’s definitely on my three-man Defensive Player of the Year ballot, but he’s shooting 30% from deep and been pretty rough offensively. Jarrett Allen has sparkling advanced metrics and is averaging a double double. The usual metrics say Al Horford is more deserving than both, but it sure doesn’t feel like he’s been that good this year.
WEST STARTERS
Devin Booker, Suns
Booker made the actual All-Star team as an injury replacement, but I’m still leaving him on my West ballot show my support. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Book has made his game more efficient by shooting fewer threes, becoming a mid-range master and getting to the line far more often. He might finally be as good as everyone’s pretended he was the last few years.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns would’ve been my injury replacement pick, and I had him comfortably on my All-Star team as my 10th pick. Yes, Towns has missed 18 games. Yes, he needs to do a lot more on defense. He’s also been the game’s best offensive big man by a sizable margin and is a 7-footer shooting 41% on 7.9 threes a game. This dude is at an absurd 64% true shooting and he’s creating almost all of his own looks. Towns doesn’t do some important things, but it’s time to appreciate the things he does extremely well too.
DeMar DeRozan, Spurs
This has low key been DeRozan’s best season ever, and this dude is a four-time All Star. DeRozan is Devin Booker taken to an extreme. He’s made only eight threes all season and still has his best true shooting ever by a whopping 5%, thanks in large part to all the newfound Spurs spacing that’s letting DDR slice and dice to the rim and live at the free-throw line. For the first time ever, I actually would’ve been fine with DeRozan on the All-Star team, and this year no one even seemed to consider him. Life is weird sometimes.
Paul George, Clippers
It’s telling that PG didn’t make the All-Star team and wasn’t even listed as one of the obvious snubs. George has been good, but nothing remotely close to the guy that finished third in MVP voting last year, and his defense is a far cry from what put him on many DPOY ballots, but his shooting has been sterling and the numbers are good overall. George has played 26 games, and he’s seventh on the team in minutes. He’s not an All-Star snub, but he’s a pretty easy Second-Team starter. That’s all fine and good, but for now, he’s a lot closer as a second banana to someone like Khris Middleton than anything near Anthony Davis’s stratosphere, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
Danilo Gallinari, Thunder
Like Bledsoe, Danilo Gallinari is one of the best active never-All-Stars. He’s just a touch under 20ppg on 44/41/90 shooting and on pace to play his second most games ever. Let’s keep an eye on that too. The Thunder have been a health success story as much as anything, but CP3 and Gallo have almost no history of staying this healthy all year. Let’s hope they keep it up, but let’s maybe also not totally lock them into the playoffs just yet.
WEST RESERVES
LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs
Aldridge shoots threes now! Since a 40-point explosion that included three 3s against Memphis on December 23, LMA is hitting 45% on 4.2 attempts per game from beyond the arc. Who could’ve possibly seen this coming??
D’Angelo Russell, Warriors/Timberwolves
Just look at the numbers: 23.6/3.7/6.3 on 43/38/80 shooting. Are the numbers empty for a terrible team? Sure. Has the defense been atrocious? Absolutely. Hilariously, DLo this year has been similar to Devin Booker the last few seasons. That doesn’t make him an All-Star, and it might not make him worthy of a max contract yet either, but it still means he’s very good. Russell has a 4.7 OBPM, tied with Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker for 11th in the entire NBA. He is far better than Andrew Wiggins could ever dream of being, if Wiggins even cared enough about basketball to dream about it.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Now we know why the Clippers were so hesitant to include SGA in the PG trade. Gilgeous-Alexander leads Oklahoma City in scoring at just under 20ppg. He also adds significant hidden value as a long defender and an outstanding guard rebounder. The overall game is still rounding into place, but if you’re starting to wonder if the Clippers might have been better off with SGA, Gallinari, and 700 draft picks than just PG, you’re not the only one.
Hassan Whiteside, Blazers
Drummond made our East team with 17 and 16, and Whiteside appears to be a similar case at 15 and 14, also known for his defense but playing for a bottom-5 defensive team. But he’s surrounded by Dame, C.J. and Melo so exactly how good could this defense have been? Whiteside has had an underrated fantastic season. He ranks top-20 in PIPM, nearly equal to Lillard and far better than any other Blazer. He’s worthy of praise, for once, and his highly regarded inefficient guard teammate is nowhere on this list.
Ja Morant, Grizzlies
Morant sure looks the part. He’s flashy and fun, the heart of a shock West 8-seed. Rookie point guards are never this good. The Grizzlies have a league-average offense! That’s not supposed to happen with a rookie PG. Morant is already one of the league’s better passers, and his shooting had been better than expected. The advanced metrics aren’t as kind yet and suggest Morant might not even be the best rookie on his own team — hi, Brandon Clarke!! — but it would just feel wrong to leave him off this Second-Team roster.
Will Barton, Nuggets
I hate the whole “X team deserves a second All-Star” thing, but are we really only picking one Nugget among the top 25 West players when they have the second-best record in the conference? I’m just not there yet on Jamal Murray, even after a scorching February, and Paul Millsap remains wonderful but has been hurt. Let’s appreciate a terrific bounce-back season from Will Barton, who does a bit of everything on both ends. No single number overwhelms, but Barton gets this spot as the second best Nugget this season.
Zion Williamson, Pelicans
Zion has been awesome, even in 10 games, even coming off injury, even with a minutes limit. The defense needs work, but he’s already an uber-efficient scorer and rebounder that can change the game in an instant. Per 36 minutes, Zion is averaging 29 points, 10 boards, 3 dimes, and 1.5 stocks. Only five rookies ever have averaged 25/10 per 36 — Joel Embiid, Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy, and some dude named Bill McGill. This season alone, only Zion, Embiid, KAT, Giannis, and Luka hit those numbers. Zion Williamson is already worthy of recognition, and he’s going to be an actual All-Star next season.
WEST HONORABLE MENTIONS
It’s impossible to overstate how much better these names are out West than in the East. I count at least seven or eight guys I’d have happily included on my Second-Team East All Stars. Alas, that’s not how it works.
If I had to pick one guy atop this group, it’s Jrue Holiday. I adore Jrue, but the numbers are not particularly flattering this year. He’s at 52% true shooting, and the defensive metrics don’t match our opinion of him. Consider that Holiday is fourth on the Pelicans in PIPM behind Zion, Derrick Favors, and Josh Hart (where you at, Brandon Ingram?). There’s not a numerical argument for Jrue Holiday. He’s just the best player left out of the team.
I wanted to give Patrick Beverley a shout as the Draymond Green of the Clippers, but Beverley hasn’t been as good and hasn’t played enough, and the Clips aren’t good enough to deserve a Draymond All Star. But yes, he’s the third most important Clipper ahead of Montrezl Harrell, another consideration, and far ahead of Lou Williams, whose name I will not bold.
I’d be fine including Steven Adams, but it didn’t feel like the Thunder needed four All-Star representatives. I mentioned Jamal Murray above — he’d be my fourth Nuggets choice still and I need more consistency from him to really believe in that team. De’Aaron Fox seems to have stagnated some this year, though he’s been much better in 2020.
Bojan Bogdanovic was another consideration at 21ppg on 61% true shooting, but I can’t shake the feeling that he literally only scores points. Joe Ingles scores half as much but plays valuable defense and seems like he does a lot more to elevate that roster. In the end, they canceled each other out.
Nemanja Bjelica and Dorian Finney-Smith were never real considerations. Just know that both are having outstanding seasons, even if no one cares.
Of course, it could be worse. The Knicks and Cavs didn’t even have a single player among the Second-Team honorable mentions… ■
2020 NBA SECOND-TEAM ALL STARS
East Starters
Fred VanVleet, Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, Gordon Hayward, Nikola Vucevic
East Reserves
Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Eric Bledsoe, Devonte’ Graham, Duncan Robinson, Davis Bertans, Andre Drummond
West Starters
Devin Booker, Paul George, DeMar DeRozan, Danilo Gallinari, Karl-Anthony Towns
West Reserves
D’Angelo Russell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ja Morant, Will Barton, Zion Williamson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Hassan Whiteside
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