Two former Wildcats named 2026 NBA All-Star starters

The NBA’s annual All-Star Game has been infiltrated by plenty of former Kentucky players over the last decade-plus. This year’s event will be no different.

On Monday afternoon, the league announced the 2026 NBA All-Star Game starters from the Eastern and Western Conferences. A couple of UK alums were nominated from both conferences: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) from the West and Tyrese Maxey (PHI) from the East. This year’s All-Star Game will look different compared to the traditional East vs. West format, as two teams made up of players from the United States and one team of international players will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games.

Regardless, SGA (who will play for Team World as a native of Canada) and Maxey have been selected as two of the 10 best players at the midway point of the 2025-26 season. According to the NBA, “the process for assigning players to the two U.S. teams will be determined at a later date.” Additionally, the NBA All-Star reserves will also be announced at a later time.

Below are the 10 starters for the 2026 All-Star Game, which will be held in Los Angeles on February 15.

Eastern Conference All-Star starters

• Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks
• Jaylen Brown | Boston Celtics
• Jalen Brunson | New York Knicks
• Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons
• Tyrese Maxey | Philadelphia 76ers

Western Conference All-Star starters

• Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors
• Luka Dončić | Los Angeles Lakers
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Oklahoma City Thunder
• Nikola Jokić | Denver Nuggets
• Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs

THE 2026 ALL-STAR STARTERS ARE HERE 🤩 pic.twitter.com/4fp7KA7AkZ

— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2026

For Gilgeous-Alexander and Maxey, it’s no shock to see them named All-Star starters this year — although it would be a shock to hear if you told us this was in store back when they were suiting up in Lexington.

The case for SGA is easy. After winning league MVP and leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA Finals victory in 2024-25, he’s having an equally productive season in 2025-26. OKC has struggled a bit after a red-hot 24-1 start (currently 35-8), but Gilgeous-Alexander has continued to play at an MVP level.

Through 41 games played, the 6-foot-6 point guard has averaged 31.8 points, 6.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 33.3 minutes per outing — the fewest amount of minutes played since his rookie season. He’s shooting 54.7 percent from the field (a career-high), 39.6 percent from deep, and 89 percent from the free-throw line. As of right now, the 27-year-old is the clear-cut favorite to repeat as MVP. This will be his fourth All-Star appearance.

The case for Maxey is relatively easy to make, as well. The 6-foot-2 point guard has the Philadelphia 76ers sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-18. On a roster that also features Joel Embiid and Paul George, Maxey has been the franchise’s obvious star. Through 38 games, he’s averaging career-highs on points (30.3), assists (6.7), rebounds (4.4), and steals (1.9) per game on shooting splits of 47.4/40.2/87.8. He’s only 25 years old, by the way. This will be his second All-Star appearance.

Don’t be shocked if another Wildcat or two join SGA and Maxey in Los Angeles for All-Star weekend, as well. Jamal Murray (DEN), Anthony Davis (DAL), Devin Booker (PHX), and Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) were all ranked among the top 40 vote-getters during the All-Star starters selection process. Murray feels like a good bet to make his first-ever All-Star Game.