A pair of Wildcats were announced as 2025 NBA All-Star Game starters on Thursday night. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of five starters from the Western Conference while New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is one of five starters from the Eastern Conference.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has sat at the very top of the NBA MVP rankings over the last several weeks. This battle between him, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has been close, but now there is a wide gap between Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the field.

Warriors star Draymond Green did not hold back about his thoughts on Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns on Wednesday.

In mid-December, Denver’s Nikola Jokic had a healthy lead on Gilgeous-Alexander in ESPN’s MVP straw poll, conducted several times over the course of each season by Tim Bontemps.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took center stage in a highly anticipated showdown against fellow 2025 NBA All-Star Game starting guard Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

In their previous 24 meetings, Towns averaged 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. while Jokic posted 19.0 points, 10.3 boards and 5.9 assists.

One week after scoring 54 points in a win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 52 in a losing effort Wednesday night against the Warriors.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky products Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Karl-Anthony Towns were each tabbed as starters for the 2025 NBA All-Star game, it was announced Thursday night on TNT. The duo was selected through a combined vote from fans, players and media, recognizing outstanding play during the first half of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Tyler Herro earned his first all-star game nod. Former coach John Calipari shared his excitement on Twitter, celebrating the former Kentucky one and done.

Named a Western Conference reserve, Victor Wembanyama is the San Antonio Spurs' first All-Star representative since 2022.

Over a span of 56 NBA All-Star games, 20 UK men's basketball alum have been selected to participate. The two join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Karl-Anthony Towns, who were named all-stars last week.

Coaches selected the reserves after the 10 names for the starters pool were announced last week through a combination of fan voting (50%), media voting (25%) and active player voting (25%).