The 2023 NBA All-Star Game added three new faces on Friday after the NBA announced the replacements for injured All-Star starters Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson.
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Raptors forward Pascal Siakam will represent their respective teams and conferences in the NBA’s star-studded exhibition in Utah on Feb. 19. Edwards and Fox will be appearing in the All-Star Game for the first time in their careers while Siakam will be making his second appearance.
Edwards, 21, is in the midst of a career year in Minnesota, as the 2020 No. 1 pick has averaged a career-high 24.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game in his 58 starts. He also currently leads the NBA in total steals (96) and minutes played (2,099; 36.2 minutes per game), and has kept the eight-ranked Timberwolves (30–28) afloat in the Western Conference despite the club dealing with multiple injuries.
Drafted fifth in 2017, Fox, 25, has been playing some of the best basketball of his career for a Kings team that is currently in third place in the West with a 31–23 record. In his 49 starts, Fox has averaged 24.2 PPG, 6.3 APG and a career-high 4.3 RPG while playing 33.7 MPG.
Siakam, 28, will head to the ASG for the first time since the 2019–20 campaign. While the Raptors (26–30) have struggled this season, Siakam has been sensational on all fronts, with the 2019 NBA champion posting a career-high 25.0 PPG and 6.2 APG to go with 8.0 RPG while playing a league-high 37.5 MPG.
The trio of young stars will join the All-Star field with Curry, Durant and Williamson still on the mend. Curry is expected to miss substantial time after suffering a leg injury during the Warriors game against the Mavericks on Feb. 4. Williamson has been out of the Pelicans’ lineup since suffering a hamstring strain on Jan. 2, and Durant, who was traded from the Nets to Suns in a blockbuster deal Wednesday night, has been sidelined with a right MCL sprain since Jan. 5.
In addition to naming the injury replacements, the NBA announced Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, 76ers center Joel Embiid and Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will now start in the contest. All three players were previously named as reserves on Feb. 2.
