While much of the talk about Luka Dončić this season has focused on his possible MVP-worthy performances, it shouldn’t be overlooked that he’s likely to earn his fourth consecutive All-Star nod Thursday night before the Mavericks play at Phoenix.
The starters for the annual exhibition will be announced on TNT’s telecast and the last fan balloting had Dončić solidly among the top two among Western Conference guards, running neck-and-neck with Golden State’s Steph Curry.
It would be Luka’s third start in the game after he came off the bench last season. He started in his second and third seasons in the league.
One interesting twist is that neither Dončić nor any of the other players will know who their teammates are going to be for the game until the night of the event, which is Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City.
The two captains, who will be the two top vote-getters (likely LeBron James and either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant) will draft their teams shortly before the game begins.
Dončić’s best All-Star showing came in 2021 when he had eight points and eight assists in 32 minutes. In fact, he has scored eight points in all three of his appearances.
He leads the NBA in scoring at 33.8 points per game this season and also piles up 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists.
Those are solid MVP credentials, although the Mavericks’ 25-24 record works against him, especially considering that Denver’s Nikola Jokic is the consensus favorite with the Nuggets leading the Western Conference and Jokic putting up massive numbers similar to Luka’s.
The Mavericks are not expected to have any other participants in All-Star weekend.
It appeared there could be a chance that rookie Jaden Hardy might get consideration for the Rising Stars game. But his lack of playing time in recent games hasn’t helped his cause.
The weekend also includes the Skills Competition, the dunk contest and the three-point shootout, but there has been no word of any Mavericks being involved in any of those events.
Briefly: The injury report for Thursday’s game has Christian Wood (left thumb fracture) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring tear) listed as out. The Suns will be without Devin Booker (left groin strain), Cameron Payne (right foot sprain) and Landry Shamet (right foot soreness). Deandre Ayton is probable after suffering from a non-COVID illness . . . The Mavericks have lost six consecutive regular-season games in Phoenix, although they did have a rather significant victory there last May in the playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference finals with a Game 7 blowout of the Suns . . . Dwight Powell’s season-high 22 points on Tuesday against Washington was the 20th 20-point game in his career.
Twitter: @ESefko
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