The NBA on Thursday announced the reserves roster for the All-Star Game that will happen in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 19. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers led the lists of the Western and Eastern Conferences respectively.

SGA, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzles, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers, Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz and Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings were voted into the All-Star reserves roster in the West by the coaches.

Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls, Julius Randle of the New York Knicks and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, were selected as the All-Star reserves in the East by the coaches.

SGA, 24, will make his All-Star debut after averaging 30.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks at a true shooting percentage of .620 in 47 games. So will 22-year-old Haliburton, who has had 20.2 points and 10.2 assists in 40 games. They will be joined by Jackson Jr. who has got an average of 3.3 blocks in 35 games at 23 years old.

The All-Star selections wouldn't be so eye-catching without controversy, most of which is about who got snubbed. Embiid, who was already unhappy at missing the starting lineup, posted on Twitter that the NBA "got some explaining to do" for not having his teammate James Harden on the All-Star roster.

Harden has averaged 21.4 points and 11 assists in 34 games for the 76ers, but saw his 10-time All-Star appearance streak come to an end. Jimmy Butler of the Heat, Paskal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks are also All-Star calibres who missed the tournament.

In the West, Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers and De'Aaron Fox of the Kings are seen as the biggest snubs together. As the head coach of Team LeBron, Michael Malone complained about the absence of his player, Aaron Gordon of the Denver Nuggets, from the All-Star roster.

There are still chances for new names to be added to the All-Star squads as Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans are both out of the games because of injuries. If either or both of them or anyone else can't play on February 19, the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will pick the replacement(s).