Rosters released for upcoming NBA All-Star game in San Francisco

Victor Wembanyama, a first-time All-Star, will join Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo as teammates in the NBA All-Star tournament, having been selected for the same roster by Charles Barkley during the All-Star Draft held on Thursday.

The All-Star event, scheduled for February 16 in San Francisco, will feature a new tournament format with four elite teams competing against each other.

Former NBA players Shaquille O'Neal, Barkley, and Kenny Smith, now serving as television commentators, each selected their rosters from the previously announced All-Star starters and reserve players.

The fourth team will be determined by the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge on February 14 and will be named Team Candace, in honor of WNBA star and TV commentator Candace Parker.

O'Neal's Team Shaq boasts six former NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Players, including the first overall pick, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who at 40 years old is making his 21st All-Star Game appearance.

Other All-Star MVPs on his roster include Stephen Curry of Golden State, Kevin Durant of Phoenix, Anthony Davis of Dallas, Jayson Tatum of Boston, and Damian Lillard of Milwaukee, with Jaylen Brown of Boston and James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers completing the team.

Barkley has put together an international lineup featuring tall talent, starting with his first selection, Jokic, the Serbian center who has won NBA MVP awards in 2021, 2022, and 2024, as well as an NBA championship in 2023.

Following Jokic, Antetokounmpo, the 2019 and 2020 NBA MVP from Greece, was chosen, along with Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is currently the NBA's leading scorer with an average of 32.8 points per game.

Wembanyama, the youngest All-Star selection at 21 years old from the San Antonio Spurs, was next to join Barkley's team, followed by Pascal Siakam from Indiana and Alperen Sengun from Houston.

Rounding out Barkley's roster are Karl-Anthony Towns of New York, who represents the Dominican Republic internationally, and Donovan Mitchell of Cleveland, whose mother has Panamanian roots.

Barkley remarked, "My international players got all the different languages," Barkley said. "They're not going to be mad at each other. They're just going to be able to get along."

He expressed concern that Team Shaq might experience discord following the trade of Anthony Davis away from LeBron James and the Lakers, alongside reports that Kevin Durant declined a return to the Warriors to play with Stephen Curry at the recent NBA trade deadline.

"Shaq's team is going to hate each other," Barkley said. "LeBron and AD ain't going to be speaking 'cause they're mad at each other.

"KD is going to hate Steph 'cause he didn't want to play with him."

After Barkley said his players "are not going to be able to argue with each other," O'Neal replied, "I don't need them to speak to each other. I just need them to come off that pick and roll and toss it back to AD."

In response to Barkley's assertion that his players would not engage in disputes, O'Neal interjected, "I don't require them to converse. My only need is for them to execute the pick and roll and pass it back to AD."

Smith criticized the international players on Team Barkley, asserting that they would lack competitive intensity.

"I don't think the international guys are going to play hard," Smith said. "The international players are really great players. However, I only see one guy I'm worried about that's going to really play hard and that's Giannis."

Smith opted for a roster featuring younger talent, beginning with Minnesota's Anthony Edwards and New York's Jalen Brunson, later including Cleveland's Darius Garland and teammate Evan Mobley at center.

The lineup was completed with Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Miami's Tyler Herro, Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr., and first-time All-Star Jalen Williams from Oklahoma City.

"I'm down with my young guys," Smith concluded.

SportsLigue