Voting for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game ends at 9:59 p.m. MST on Wednesday, and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker will likely be on the edge of a reserve spot.
The five starters from each conference will be announced on Monday, and the reserve players will be selected on Feb. 1.
Booker is putting together another star-worthy season as the leader of the Suns, and Phoenix has been one of the most positively surprising teams in the league.
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While Booker’s numbers aren’t good enough to be an All-Star starter, the success of the Suns might be what gets him into the All-Star Game as a reserve player.
The All-Star Game voting consists of 50% fan voting, 25% player voting and 25% media voting for the starters. Then, the coaches select the reserve players.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps put together his 2026 NBA All-Star Game starters and reserves, and he had Booker making his fifth All-Star Game, in the final reserve spot.
Bontemps listed Booker, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and guard Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Portland Trail Blazers guard Deni Avdija as his five players on the “bubble watch” and selected two from the group to make the All-Star Game.
He gave Avdija the first spot because of his vast improvement and the Trail Blazers being in the playoff picture. He gave Booker the final spot over the Lakers duo and Leonard.
“There’s a very good case for Leonard over Booker,” Bontemps wrote. “But since Booker is the undisputed leader of this Suns team and Phoenix has overachieved to the point it has, it’s enough to nudge this in his favor.”
Suns fans would love that pick, but it could be very controversial across the rest of the NBA. It would be just the second time in James’ career he’d miss the All-Star Game, and the first season since his rookie year. Leonard, who’s averaging a career-high 28.1 points per game, would miss out on the All-Star Game in his home arena.
However, James hasn’t played enough games this season, and his numbers simply don’t compare to the others. Reaves was having a breakout season, but he hasn’t played since Christmas Day, and he’s offset by Luka Doncic.
Booker’s biggest competition for the final reserve spot in the Western Conference is Leonard, who is having the better statistical season. Leonard is shooting 50% from the field, 93.9% from the free-throw line and averaging 2.2 steals per game.
Booker is averaging 25.2 points per game, shooting 45.4% from the field, 86.1% from the free-throw line and averaging less than one steal per game. The one stat Booker has the edge in is his 6.5 assists per game, compared to Leonard’s 3.4.
However, Booker has a Suns team that had no expectations for this season comfortably in the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, and he’s played in 37 of Phoenix’s 40 games.
Leonard has James Harden alongside him, and the Clippers are 16-23, sitting 11th in the Western Conference. Leonard has also only played in 29 of Los Angeles’ 39 games.
Bontemps said “from a team standpoint, the league’s best story could be the Suns,” and that’s why he believes Booker deserves to make his fifth All-Star Game, despite his dip in efficiency, over Leonard.
In the second returns of fan voting, which were released on Jan. 6, Leonard had 43,286 more votes than Booker. However, the fans only make up 50% of the votes, and that’s only for the starters.
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