Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam Miss Out on All-Star Game Starting Lineup
The Toronto Raptors will have to wait until All-Star game reserves are announced to see if they'll be sending anyone to Cleveland for next month's All-Star game.
Neither Pascal Siakam nor Fred VanVleet qualified as All-Star game starters, the NBA announced Thursday.
The two were beaten out by Kevin Durant, the captain for the Eastern Conference, DeMar DeRozan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Trae Young.
The Western Conference will be led by Ja Morant, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and first-time All-Star Andrew Wiggins who rounds out the starting lineup.
Voting for the starters were determined by a mixture of fan vote (50%), player vote (25%), and media vote (25%). The reserves will be determined by the coaches in the respective conferences.
VanVleet is the more likely of the two Raptors to make it to Cleveland. He's played in 41 games this season, averaging a career-best 21.7 points, seven assists, and shooting 39.3% from three-point range. An All-Star game nod would be the first of his career.
Siakam's case will come down to how much Eastern Conference coaches ding him for missing the first month of the season due to offseason shoulder surgery. He's played in 33 games this season, averaging 21 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists.
All-Star game reserves will be announced on February 3, 2022.
Further Reading
Raptors show typical second half heart in loss to Bulls
Malachi Flynn discusses raptors season following impressive showing vs. Hornets
Nick Nurse apologizes to Japanese fans following Yuta Watanabe's G League stint
