Any hope that the Utah Jazz could get a player to Los Angeles for NBA All-star weekend now resides in the form of an injury replacement. And even then, it’s a long shot.
On Sunday, the NBA announced its
Western Conference all-star rosters, and candidates Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen failed to make the list of the final seven reserves. Ahead of them were Chet Holmgren, Deni Avdija, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Jamal Murray and LeBron James.
Markkanen is averaging a career-best 27.4 points per game this season — two more than his lone all-star campaign in 2023 — on 47.9/36.4/88.6 shooting splits. He’s also putting up 7.0 rebounds per game and is dishing out a career-high 2.2 assists per game.
But Markkanen has also only played 35 of the 13-seeded Jazz’s 49 games. That’s not gonna sit well with people who decide his all-star fate.
George is having a breakout year, and has inserted his name into most improved player competition, as well as made himself a real “guy” in the NBA.
This season, George is averaging 24.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.2 apg in 47 appearances. His shooting numbers have improved drastically from his sophomore season, going from 39.1% from the field to 45.9%, and 34.3% from deep to 37.7%.
But even if a player has to miss due to injury, snagging an injured reserve spot is just as hard a task for the Jazz duo. Take a look at some of the names that are in the running for the extra spot:
- Julius Randle: 22.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 5.4 apg
- Austin Reaves: 26.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.3 apg
- Alpren Sengun: 21.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 6.4 apg
- Kawhi Leonard: 27.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.5 apg
- James Harden: 25.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 8.1 apg
George and Markkanen were always going to be on the outside looking in when it came to the 2026 all-star game. There’s simply too many good players on good Western teams for the NBA to justify giving a spot to a 15-win team.
Do you think that the coaches got the reserves right? Should the Jazz have gotten a player in?
