Predicting 2026 NBA All-Star reserves: LeBron James misses cut, Donovan Mitchell should have been starter

The actual reserves will be announced Sunday

On Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, the NBA will announce the reserves for the 2026 All-Star Game. We already know the starters: Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić in the Western Conference; Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference.

The format of the actual All-Star Game will not be East vs. West. This season, it's the United States versus the rest of the world, with two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players. 

None of this is relevant for this exercise, though -- as usual, NBA coaches will vote in seven reserves from each conference. Just like with the starters, it's positionless.

Let's pretend that I'm an NBA coach (lmao). Here are my picks:

I put down the first five names without a second thought. Mitchell, who is scoring at a higher volume and with greater efficiency than ever before, was on my official ballot as a starter. Barnes' shooting has fallen off as the season has gone on, but he's been awesome at everything else and should be a lock for First-Team All-Defense. Porter has reinvented himself in Brooklyn -- he's now an offense unto himself, even though he's still doing the vast majority of his damage off the ball. Johnson has continued his evolution as the new face of the Hawks, averaging a triple-double in December and making the most of his increased offensive responsibility. Duren is not a go-to guy, but has taken a huge step forward as a scorer while reliably rebounding and protecting the paint for the East's toughest -- and, so far, best -- team.