Steph Curry is an All-Star starter, obviously

In the least shocking news you’ve heard all week, Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry has been named a starter for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, which for stupid (read: money-grabbing) reasons is still happening in the middle of a pandemic, when the NBA is having a difficult time safely getting two teams to play at once, let alone 20.

But that irresponsibility from the league shouldn’t stop up from celebrating a remarkable achievement by Curry, who has made the All-Star game for the seventh time in his career, and has been named a starter all seven times.

Starters are chosen by the fans (50% of the vote), media (25%) and players (25%), with two backcourt and three frontcourt players from each conference. Curry finished in first place among Western guards by all three voting blocks.

The two-time MVP is joined in the West by Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets), and Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers). The starters from the East are Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), and Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets).

This will likely be the first time since Curry’s initial All-Star Game in 2014 that he won’t be joined by a Warriors teammate. In 2015 he was joined by Klay Thompson, in 2016 by Thompson and Draymond Green, in 2017 and 2018 by Thompson, Green, and Durant, and in 2019 by Thompson and Durant.

For the fourth year, the All-Star Game will abandon East vs. West after the voting, and will instead have the teams chosen by captains. Those captains will be James and Durant, so it will be interesting to see who picks Curry. Both have plenty of history with the Warriors superstar.

Congrats, Wardell. To say you deserve it would be an understatement.