Mavs' Kyrie Irving Not Named Among NBA All-Star Reserves
DALLAS — The NBA announced the Eastern and Western Conference reserves for the 2024 All-Star Game rosters. Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving, who has eight All-Star appearances, was not selected among the player pool.
Irving was not among the players selected to round out the West's roster, including Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The reserves are selected by picking two guards, two three frontcourt players, and two wild-card spots to form a 12-man roster chosen by NBA coaches.
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Irving has dealt with multiple multi-game injury absences this season, impacting his outlook to be chosen as an All-Star. He's averaged 25.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 27 games but has missed 21 of the Mavs' 48 games. Among Western Conference guards, he finished seventh in voting by player votes, fourth among fans, and sixth among media.
Irving admitted earlier in the season amid a slow start to his campaign that he's not focused on accolades at this stage of his career. He would rather peak at the right time to lead the Mavs to a successful season than play to earn an All-Star nod.
"This year is just a focus on basketball and peaking at the right time. You'll hear me say that pretty often," Irving said earlier this season. "I don't think my accolades are at the forefront either, like making All-Star and making whatever [All-NBA] teams and stuff like that. I think it's just developing as a leader and mature and being able to put one foot in each other in front of the other every single day on and off the court. We're a growing group."
Luka Doncic earned his fifth All-Star appearance and was voted a starter for the fourth consecutive season. He averaged 34.7 points, 9.6 assists, and 8.6 rebounds in 40 games this season, again proving to be one of the NBA's premier talents.
Last season, the Mavs were the only team with two All-Star starters since Irving had already earned the honor before being traded to the team.
Dereck Lively II will represent the Mavs as a member of the rookie player pool in the Rising Stars Challenge — an exhibition game featuring standout first and second-year players. He's the first rookie within the organization to be selected for this event since Doncic did so during his first season.
