Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards named NBA All-Star for fourth year in a row

After he just missed being an All-Star starter, Anthony Edwards has made his fourth consecutive All-Star Game as a reserve, the NBA announced Sunday, Feb. 1.

Edwards missed out on a tiebreaker to be the fifth starter out of the Western Conference to San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama, but it was almost a guarantee that he would be selected by the coaches as a reserve.

Edwards makes his fourth All-Star appearance while having a career-best season in scoring at 29.4 points per game, which is the third-best average in the NBA. He is also shooting a career-high 41% from three-point range and 50% from the field overall. He joins Kevin Garnett as the only Wolves players to be named All-Stars four years in a row.

The All-Star format is different this season, with the league attempting to a new round-robin style tournament comprised of two teams made up only of players born in the United States and one team of international players.

The question for the Wolves was whether they were going to get a second All-Star in the mix, with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert — both three-time All-Star selections — making a compelling case, Randle for his playmaking and scoring, Gobert with his defense. But neither got the nod.

Also selected to the Western Conference reserves was Chet Holmgren, the former Minnehaha Academy standout’s first All-Star selection. The 7-foot-1 Holmgren was averaging 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game for West-leading Oklahoma City this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James was named to his 22nd All-Star Game, and the other West reserves are Portland’s Deni Avdija, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Houston’s Kevin Durant (his 16th selection) and Denver’s Jamal Murray. Like Holmgren, Avdija and Murray are first-time All-Stars.

The other East reserves are Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Miami’s Norman Powell and Indiana’s Pascal Siakam.

The previously named starters from the West were the Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama. The previously named starters from the East were Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, New York’s Jalen Brunson and Boston’s Jaylen Brown.