Who decides the replacements of the injured players in the NBA All-Star Game?
The NBA All-Star game will tip off at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana for the first time in 39 years at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 18th.
With the loss of Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid to injury, the NBA All-Star game loses one of its biggest players and one who is currently the league’s MVP. Of course, that’s not the only eye-opening change that we will see this year. There is also the matter of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry who won’t be in the starting lineup for the first time. Curry is an All-Star game regular and has even won the MVP for the game on occasion. In the 2021 edition, he scored 50 pts and scored the winning basket at the buzzer. We’ve also got to mention the injury to Julius Randle of the New York Knicks which will see him unable to take the floor in Indianapolis as well.
Who decides the replacement of injured players for the NBA All-Star game?
In this case, this responsibility falls on NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Per game rules, the stand-in player must be from the same conference as the injured one. The obligation is passed on to the All-Start Game coach if the player is a fan-voted starter. To that end the responsibility for selecting replacements for Embiid and Randle would have fallen to Eastern Conference coach Doc Rivers, the current coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. This is all to say that where commissioner Adam Silver is concerned, his role is to pick a reserve player for the one who will replace Embiid and Randle job is reduced to picking a replacement for whoever takes Steph’s place in the game.
Who will replace Joel Embiid & Julius Randle the All-Star game?
The honor will fall to Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors and the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young. While it’s assured that fans won’t be happy about the absence of Embiid and Randle, the inclusion of both Barnes and Young as replacements are testament to the waves they have been making in the league of late. Indeed, Young has established himself as one of the most talented point guards in the game today, while Barnes continues to prove he is a star on the rise. Expect both players to put on a show in Indianapolis.