Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns named 2022 NBA All-Stars

A pair of former Wildcats will soon take a weekend trip to Cleveland.

On Thursday night, the reserves for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game were announced on TNT as Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns made the roster. This will be Booker’s third consecutive All-Star appearance while Towns will also make his third appearance, but first since the 2018-19 season. Booker and Towns were teammates at Kentucky on the notorious 38-1 team from 2015 that lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four.

how it started ➡️ how it’s going

RT to congratulate @DevinBook and @KarlTowns on making the #NBAAllStar Game! pic.twitter.com/J0nQkmjGBk

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 4, 2022

Joining Booker and Towns with the rest of the Western Conference reserves are Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Rudy Gobert (Jazz), Draymond Green (Warriors), Donovan Mitchell (Jazz), and Chris Paul (Suns). Green will not participate in the event due to an injury, which will open up another spot for someone else to make the roster.

The All-Star Game starters were announced last week, although no former Kentucky players made the cut. Towns was in consideration for a starting frontcourt role, which ultimately went to Golden State Warriors guard Andrew Wiggins.

Booker and Towns are incredibly well-deserving choices as All-Stars this season. Both selected in the 2015 NBA Draft (Towns No. 1 overall, Booker No. 13), it’s been a quick and steady rise to stardom these one-time Kentucky hoopers. Booker has his Suns squad sitting on the best record in the NBA at 41-9 while Towns has the Wolves playing good basketball for the first time in years with a 26-25 record.

Let’s check out their stats.

Devin Booker, Suns – 2021-22 season stats

25.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.5 turnovers in 33.8 minutes per game on a shooting split of 44.5/38.0(career-high)/86.0 in 43 games played.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves – 2021-22 season stats

24.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 3.3 turnovers in 34.3 minutes per game on a shooting split of 51.8/40.9/81.0 in 44 games played.

Booker and Towns were as close to locks to make the All-Star reserves as it could get this season.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis could be a potential option as an injury replacement for Green. While Davis isn’t having a spectacular year by his standards, he’s still averaging 23.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 52.5 percent from the floor. Unfortunately, he’s played in only 31 of the Lakers’ 52 possible games — which puts his resume at a disadvantage — and is shooting just 18.0 percent from 3-point range. Plus, L.A. is 25-27, ninth in the Western Conference, while struggling with various injuries and roster issues.

Cleveland’s 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend is scheduled for Feb. 18-20.

2022 NBA All-Star Rosters

Eastern Conference starters

Trae Young (Hawks)
DeMar DeRozan (Bulls)
Giannis Antetokoumpo (Bucks)
Kevin Durant (Nets, captain)
Joel Embiid (76ers)

Eastern Conference reserves

Jimmy Butler (Heat)
Darius Garland (Cavaliers)
James Harden (Nets)
Zach LaVine (Bulls)
Khris Middleton (Bucks)
Jayson Tatum (Bucks)
Fred VanVleet (Raptors)

Western Conference starters

Steph Curry (Warriors)
Ja Morant (Grizzlies
LeBron James (Lakers, captain)
Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)

Western Conference reserves

Devin Booker (Suns)
Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
Draymond Green (Warriors)
Chris Paul (Suns)
Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)