(Photo: Ned Dishman/Getty Images)
To say the Washington Wizards, now 26-21, are a mess, especially against sub-.500 teams, is an understatement. They lost to the lottery bound Dallas Mavericks on Monday night in embarrasing fashion, but that should not take away from John Wall and Bradley Beal both being named as All-Star game reserves on Tuesday night as chosen by the Eastern Conference head coaches. ESPN's Chris Haynes first reported the Wall news and the Washington Post's Candace Buckner first reported the Beal news. Hoop District was later able to confirm the Beal report.
For Wall, this is his fifth consecutive All-Star honor, while for Beal, this will be his first trip to the midseason festivities, which was foreshadowed for weeks. For the first time since the 2007-08 season, the Wizards will have two players in the All-Star Game. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were the last duo to do so a decade ago.
"I’m thrilled to compete in the All-Star game for the fifth year in a row," Wall said. "Being able to represent the Wizards organization and Washington, D.C., during the weekend is an honor that I do not take for granted. As always, I share this with my coaches and teammates and look forward to continuing to work together to get better."
Despite a left knee soreness injury that cost him more than two weeks, Wall is averaging 19.3 points and 9.2 assists per game this season through 36 games. Beal, who Wall proclaimed the Wizards team 'MVP' during the first half, is averaging 23.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, which are all career-highs.
"It is an honor and a blessing to be able to compete in my first All-Star game," Beal said . "I want to thank the Wizards organization, my teammates and coaches for their support. I also want to thank the great fans in D.C. who have been behind me since my rookie year. I’m looking forward to representing them in Los Angeles and working hard for them the rest the season as we improve our team.”
The House of Guards had no chance at starting in the All-Star game because of the Wizards poor record and their lack of fan support. Wall finished 5th behind Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, Victor Oladipo, and Ben Simmons in the player, fan, and media weighted voting, while Beal finished 6th.
Wall has the reputation that probably got him over the hump, while Beal has quite simply earned it having scored the 7th most points in the NBA behind LeBron James, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins, Russell Westbrook, and DeMar DeRozan.
The starters will be Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and DeMarcus Cousins. James and Curry will serve as two captains that will draft their team beginning with the 8 other players that are starters and then with the 14 players that are voted in as reserves.
Beside Wall and Beal, the other reserves are Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Draymond Green.
Which team Wall and Beal play for during the mid-February game will be revealed Thursday night on TNT.