Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker
has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis in the 2021 NBA All-Star
Game, which will be played on Sunday, March 7 at State Farm Arena
in Atlanta.
Booker has earned his second
straight NBA All-Star selection. He is averaging a team-high 24.7
points (16th in the NBA), 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds while
shooting a career-high 50.1 percent from the field, 38.1 percent
from three-point range and 84.8 percent from the free throw line in
26 games this season.
Behind Booker and fellow NBA
All-Star Chris Paul, Phoenix has posted the league’s fourth-best
record (20-10) and produced its best start through 30 games of a
season since 2007-08. With the selection of Booker and Paul, the
Suns have multiple NBA All-Stars in a season for the first time
since 2009-10 (Steve Nash and Amar’e
Stoudemire).
Davis will miss the NBA All-Star
Game after sustaining a right calf strain against the Denver
Nuggets on Feb. 14. He was voted by NBA head coaches as an All-Star
reserve, his eighth consecutive All-Star selection. Davis is
averaging 22.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.78 blocks in 23 games
this season.
According to NBA rules, when a
player selected to the All-Star Game is unable to participate, the
Commissioner shall choose a replacement from the same conference as
the player who is being replaced. Davis and Booker both play
for Western Conference teams.
The NBA All-Star Game rosters
will be determined through the NBA All-Star Draft, where team
captains Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and LeBron James of the
Lakers will select from the pool of players named starters and
reserves in each conference. TNT will air the NBA All-Star Draft on
Thursday, March 4 at 8 p.m. ET.
In the two-round NBA All-Star
Draft, Booker will be selected with the All-Star Game reserves in
the second round. The starters will be selected in the first round.
Davis will be assigned to the same All-Star team that drafts
Booker.
The 70th NBA All-Star Game is
part of NBA All-Star 2021, which will take place on one night,
March 7. TNT’s NBA All-Star coverage will begin at 5 p.m. ET with
TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax, followed by the Taco Bell®
Skills Challenge and MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest starting at 6:30 p.m.
ET. NBA All-Star Game coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with
AT&T Slam Dunk taking place at halftime.