The NBA will announce the reserves for the 2026 All-Star Game on Sunday, February 1. With a record of 30-19, it wouldn’t be out of place for the Minnesota Timberwolves to have two players named to the team.
On Friday, John Hollinger of The Athletic revealed who would be his Eastern and Western Conference reserve All-Stars, after the starters had already been named. Obviously, Anthony Edwards was part of his West reserves (it can be argued that Ant-Man should have been a starter). For two other Minnesota players that deserve to be part of the conversation, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert, Hollinger lists them as being Western Conference snubs.
Hollinger leaves off Randle and Gobert from his All-Star team
The players named as starters in the Western Conference are Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic. Seven reserves in both conferences will be revealed on Sunday, and these are the seven out West that Hollinger believes should be the ones to earn All-Star trips.
- Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
- Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
- Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
- Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
- Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
- James Harden, Clippers
Now the Clippers have been ridiculously hot of late, but they still remain 2 games under .500 after beginning the year 6-21. Should an under-.500 team receive two All-Star nods?
As Hollinger mentions, the Western Conference provides a much more difficult path to receiving an All-Star berth compared to the counterparts in the East. In his blurb on Randle for the Western Conference snubs, Hollinger even mentions that Randle would be making the cut if he were in the Eastern Conference. On the season, Julius is averaging 22.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists while appearing in all 49 of the Timberwolves’ outings.
Meanwhile, Gobert has put himself in contention to potentially win the fifth Defensive Player of the Year award in his career. The 33-year-old is also tied for second in the league, averaging 11.2 rebounds per contest, and leads the NBA shooting 71.0 percent from the field.
Randle and Gobert have been named to three All-Star games each during their careers. Now even if they aren’t originally named to the team on Saturday, the possibility remains that injury replacements will need to be named. The other Western Conference snubs that Hollinger names (other than Randle and Gobert) are:
- Alperen Sengun, Rockets
- Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors
- Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Each of those players certainly has a case. We will see which players are named reserve All-Stars on Sunday -- but Wolves fans are hoping to see at least one of Randle or Gobert earn this honor.