Golden State Warriors: Making the case for four All-Stars

The Golden State Warriors landed four players in the NBA All-Star Game last season. Do they have a case to send all four back to the game this year?

Last season, the Golden State Warriors had four players named to the Western Conference All Star team for the first time in franchise history.

This week Draymond Green suggested a repeat of this feat is in order.

As this year’s selections and game approach – including a new format with team captains – let’s take a look at not whether Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson will or should be chosen for the All-Star squad.

To make the case, here is a quick look at how each of those player’s numbers stack up with their selection last year (all statistics include games through January 11):

Stephen Curry has been an All Star for the last four seasons. This year he is averaging 27.9 points (25.3 last year) on 49.2 percent shooting (46.8 percent last year).

His assists (down a tick to 6.4 from 6.6) and rebounds (up to 5.2 from 4.5) are in the same range and his signature three-point shooting is virtually identical to last year: shooting 10.0 threes and making 4.1 per game.

If you prefer holistic statistics, Curry is second in the league in Win Shares per 48 Minutes (.298). There is no doubt he is a deserving All Star. The only smudge on his resume this year is missing 14 games due to injury.

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Kevin Durant has been an All Star the last eight seasons. In his second year with Golden State KD is averaging 26.3 points and 7.0 rebounds (25.1 and 8.3 last season, for context).

His shooting percentage has dropped to 50.9 percent from a career high 53.7 percent last year. His emergence as a defender continues as he is leading the league in blocked shots at 2.2 per game.

After leading the NBA in Win Shares per 48 last season (.278), his mark this year is .206, still good for 13th in The Association. He has missed eight games this year, but is still a deserving All-Star.

Draymond Green has been selected to the last two NBA All Star games. His selection is based less on scoring excellence than on his contributions to an historically elite team as a defender and distributor.

His scoring, rebounding and assist numbers this year (10.7, 7.8, 7.6) are right in line what he did last season (10.2, 7.9, 7.0). Coming off a 2016-17 season where he was named Defensive Player of the Year and led the league with 2.0 steals and accumulated 1.4 blocks a night.

His steals number is back to 2015-16 level (1.4 per game) and steals have remained steady (1.3 per contest) this year. Compared to last season, Green is shooting the ball better, increasing his field goal percentage to 45.6 percent from 41.8 percent and shooting 76.3 percent from the line compared to last year’s 70.9 percent.

His Win Shares per 48 is .154, just a shade below last year’s .160. Green has missed just six games and is again a deserving All Star.

Klay Thompson has been named an All-Star each of the last three seasons. His game is based on shooting and defense, with his assist (2.6 per game) and rebounding (4.0 per game) numbers lower than his All Star teammates – though both numbers are career highs.

He also is hitting threes at a career high mark of 45.3 percent. His scoring is down to 20.7 per game from last season’s career best 22.3, but his attempts have dropped correspondingly, decreasing to 16.7 from 17.6 in 2016-17.

His Win Shares per 48 is his lowest in four seasons at .112, making him the most susceptible to an All-Star snub relative to his Dubs teammates. In Thompson’s favor though, is that he has missed only one game so far this season.

Next: Who Is The Most Important Player On Golden State's Roster

In summary, each of the Warriors’ “core four” is performing at a similarly high level relative to their previous All Star selections. As none of them has yet reached his 30th birthday, their consistent performance comes as no surprise.

And they are certainly playing at a level that gives Curry, Durant, Green and Thompson a chance to be the first four teammates ever to be chosen to play in back-to-back NBA All Star games.