Celtics' Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum Will Have To Wait To Earn All-Star Nods
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jaylen Brown will have to wait to officially earn his first All-Star nod. The Celtics swingman was not named one of the NBA's All-Star starters on Thursday night.
Brown should have no problem earning a reserve spot from NBA head coaches, with the rest of the All-Stars announced on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Brown is having a career-year for Boston in his fifth NBA season, averaging 25.9 points off 51 percent shooting to go with 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
Brown finished fifth in fan voting for Eastern Conference guards with 1,401,416 million votes, behind Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Zach LaVine. Beal and Irving were named starting guards out of the East on Thursday night, with Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid making up the front court.
After Tuesday night's win over the Nuggets, Brown said it would be a special honor to make his first All-Star squad this year with the game taking place in his hometown Atlanta. He's been Boston's most consistent player throughout the season, and he made a great case to start over Irving, who has missed 10 games so far this season. But NBA fans thought otherwise.
Brown probably won't be alone when he makes his trip to Atlanta. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has made his case to make the squad by averaging 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season. He earned 2,295,299 fan votes to finish fourth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players. He should make his second straight All-Star team when reserves are announced next week.
The NBA announced its plans for this year's All-Star festivities on Thursday, and the two teams will once again be drafted by captains. The 2021 NBA All-Star Game is set for March 7 at 8 p.m. in Atlanta.
