The .500 Los Angeles Clippers find themselves amid a second consecutive up and down season, but the team still has plenty of star power.
With that in mind, it is time to start thinking about the NBA All-Star Game as the league nears the halfway point of the season.
While the game will not be played until Feb. 19 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, the first returns from fan voting were released last Thursday.
BetCalifornia.com analyzed these results, along with this season’s stats and past All-Star rosters, to determine the hypothetical odds of a Clipper making it to Utah for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
While there are no legal California sportsbooks, keep it here at BetCalifornia.com for Clippers news, plus developments towards eventual state legalization.
Odds Of NBA 2023 All-Star Appearance
George Makes Strong Case For Selection
Paul George currently sits sixth in the Western Conference frontcourt voting behind LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson and Andrew Wiggins.
While making the All-Star Game as a starter might be out of reach given he is over a million votes behind Davis for third place, George has put himself in good position to make his eighth All-Star appearance as a reserve.
He ranks sixth among Western Conference frontcourt players in scoring at 23.7 points per game and is one of 10 players across the league averaging at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a night.
And of the five Western Conference frontcourt players outscoring George, four of them occupy the top four spots in the voting, while the Jazz' Lauri Markkanen sits right behind him in seventh, though George has over twice the number of raw votes as him, plus better production in non-scoring areas.
If the injuries to Davis and Williamson linger through the All-Star break, George could steal a starting spot thanks to the player and media portion of the vote, as their half of the voting should favor him far more than Wiggins.
Otherwise, look for George to compete with Markkanen and the Kings' Domantas Sabonis for the remaining backup frontcourt spots, though one of them could easily earn a wildcard position to allow all three to make the roster.
Wiggins, along with fellow Golden State Warriors Draymond Green and Kevon Looney, do not feel like real threats to make the team despite all finishing within the top 10 in Western Conference frontcourt voting. Their current positioning merely reflects their popularity, not their play.
Unfortunately, this also appears to apply to Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard a Longshot To Be Named All-Star
Leonard has received the ninth most votes among all Western Conference frontcourt players so far, but his game has not returned to form as he works his way back from the ACL injury that forced him to miss last season.
Leonard has appeared in just 18 of the Clippers' 42 games, and is averaging only 17.3 points per game, 7.5 less than he averaged when he last played in 2020-21. Numbers like that would make Leonard a longshot to make the All-Star Game at Fliff Social California.
However, his popularity is such that it would be unwise to discount the small possibility of a legacy selection, even if others have proven far more worthy this year.
Stay close to this site for more NBA All-Star developments, as well as eventual California sportsbook promos when the time comes.
