Villanova in the Pros: Jalen Brunson Learns All-Star Teammates

The NBA is experimenting with another formatting change to their All-Star Game this year, one that will have an impact on the team former Villanova Wildcat Jalen Brunson suits up for in the exhibition. Recent formats saw the Eastern and Western Conferences face off against one another, or even a school yard style draft conducted by league captains like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

This year features another draft, one conducted by former NBA stars and current TV personalities Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith. Brunson, whose New York Knicks rank third in the Eastern Conference this season, will suit up for Team Kenny. He’s the lone starter — which was determined during the initial balloting via fan voting (50 percent of the total), a media panel vote and a current player vote (25 percent of the total each) — on Smith’s team.

His teammates include Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Memphis’s Jaren Jackson Jr., Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, both of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Miami’s Tyler Herro.

Looking at the distribution of All-Star starters, Brunson and Team Kenny could end up at a disadvantage: Team Shaq possesses four starters, while Barkley has five. This marks Brunson’s — who won a pair of NCAA Championships with Villanova — second season as an All-Star and his first as a member of the starting lineup, a well deserved honor as he ranks ninth in the NBA with 26.1 points per game and eighth with an average of 7.5 assists.

The exhibition itself, held at the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, will begin at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16. Brunson will compete in the 3-point contest the previous night, with the exact bracket for the All-Star Game itself not yet announced.