Chicago Bulls: This should be the day Zach LaVine becomes an All-Star
On the night of Feb. 23 (depending on where you live in the United States or around the globe), the highly anticipated announcements for the reserves for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game are set to be announced. We already know who the starters will be for the All-Star Game for both conferences this year, but the reserves will fill out the rest of the rosters. And the word that all Chicago Bulls fans are waiting for on this day is the All-Star fate of their star 25-year-old shooting guard Zach LaVine.
There will be two reserve guards announced for each conference, three frontcourt players, and two more wildcards. That essentially gives four potential spots that LaVine could fit into for the Eastern Conference side, but the competition will be stiff.
Other names in the running to take a guard/wildcard spot from the likes of LaVine are Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons, Miami Heat small forward/shooting guard Jimmy Butler, and Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis, among others. Since the Brooklyn Nets superstar guard James Harden was not named as an All-Star starter for the East, he is likely to be one of the locks in a guard reserve spot.
Chicago Bulls star should be an All-Star selection
Moreover, LaVine should be close to a lock for one of the guard or reserve spots in the East. He’s having yet another career year, and actually helping the Bulls find more success in the win column. If he’s not named an All-Star this season, it’s hard to tell when he would get enough league-wide respect to garner these honors.
LaVine has started in all 30 games he’s played in for the Bulls so far this season, averaging around 36 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 28.6 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks. LaVine shot 51.8 percent from the field, 43.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.4 percent from the free-throw line.
If LaVine does get his first career All-Star nod this season, he would be the first Bulls player to do so since Butler was back in 2017. LaVine was close to getting these honors when All-Star Weekend was hosted at the United Center in Chicago last year, but his selection didn’t wind up coming to fruition.
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The All-Star Game itself is set to be played on March 7, roughly two and a half weeks away from now. The draft for the All-Star Game will be determined between the captains, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, on March 4.