Harden, Kawhi headline notable All-Star snubs

The reserves for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game were announced Sunday, and several marquee names enjoying outstanding seasons missed out.

Here's a look at the biggest snubs from each conference, keeping in mind that the revised format requires 16 players representing the United States and eight from international countries. Spoiler alert: Several players from Western Conference teams might feel slighted by the selections.

Eastern Conference

Starters:

Reserves:

Porter's sensational year has proven he can flourish in a leading role without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. That said, the Nets have won just 13 games, and their record isn't doing Porter any favors. What it does do, however, is make the 27-year-old an intriguing trade candidate: His 48.2/39.8/85.1 shooting splits on a career-high usage rate (29.5%) signify the kind of offensive efficiency several contenders would love to add.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year didn't garner enough consideration to join Cavaliers teammate Donovan Mitchell. However, Mobley would likely be a strong injury-replacement candidate if another big needs to come from the East to replace the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo. Except Mobley's own calf strain has also put his hypothetical All-Star appearance at risk; the 24-year-old is expected to miss another week or two.

If recency bias was a factor, Embiid might have earned his eighth selection. The two-time scoring champion has been a menace of late, recording 28.3 points per game on 63.9% true shooting in January. The former MVP is also eligible to represent both his homeland, Cameroon, and the United States, which he played for at the 2024 Olympics. The major knock against Embiid is that he's missed 20 games due to injury.

Brandon Ingram, Paolo Banchero, and Josh Giddey are among those who can feel aggrieved by their omissions, but White might feel especially slighted. The ninth-year combo guard missed out on his first All-Star nod while posting career highs in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals (1.3), and blocks (1.4), and his all-around impact is exemplified by his presence at the defensive end. White is undeniably among the league's most dependable two-way guards.

Western Conference

Starters:

Reserves:

The Beard is undergoing a renaissance in his age-36 season. Harden's 25.4-point average through 44 games is his best output since he put up 34.3 in 2019-20 - his last year with a top-three finish in MVP voting. And while injuries have thrown the Clippers' season for a loop, Harden has kept chugging along, missing just four games all year. In January, he was only absent for one - a month in which he otherwise helped Tyronn Lue's men go 10-4.

Leonard's All-Star omission is conspicuous - not just because he leads the Clippers with a career-high 27.6 points per game and the NBA with 2.0 steals per game, but also because snubbing him and Harden means this year's hosts won't have a rep despite their drastic turnaround. Leonard has been instrumental in righting the ship. Starting with their Dec. 20 win over the Lakers, the two-time Finals MVP has poured in 30.2 points per contest and shot 41.8% from deep, helping Los Angeles go 15-3 when he's played.

Player A: 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists; Player B: 21 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists. If you guessed that Player A is All-Star Chet Holmgren and Player B is Sengun, please collect your prize. The Thunder merit a second pick for obvious reasons, and Holmgren is among the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year. Sengun has also improved his counting stats and defense while guiding the Rockets to the second-best point differential in the West.

The NBA had a ready-made solution for the passivity and painfully noncompetitive nature of the All-Star Game in the form of selecting one of the league's elite villains. Instead, the league took the cowardly route. Brooks has bumped his career scoring average nearly seven points to a personal best, and he's an elite defender often tasked with marking the opposition's top scorer. He's also the ideal foil for nemesis LeBron James, whose controversial inclusion will not be lost on the Canadian agitator.

Gobert is no stranger to being snubbed. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Star lamented not getting picked for the 2024 installment, saying it's "probably not the last time I get disrespected." Prescient stuff from the Frenchman, who's anchoring one of the NBA's top defensive units and enjoying a bounce-back campaign on offense with the league's best field-goal percentage. There's a case to be made for Gobert or Timberwolves teammate Julius Randle.

Markkanen is quietly piecing together the best season of his career, though arguably too quietly for voters' taste. The 15-35 Jazz are 12-10 when he drops 26 points or more in a game, encapsulating how much of an All-Star he is to Utah if not the rest of the league. If he maintains his current pace, the 28-year-old would be the only true 7-footer since at least 1946-47 to average minimums of 27 points, seven rebounds, and 2.5 threes per game over an entire season, per Stathead.