The NBA's All-Star Game is for the benefit of fans, so it's only right that they get a say in who they see on the court -- even when, as is the case with legendary Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant during his final season, they don't merit a spot on the All-Star roster on the basis of their performance. If you want to see Kobe, go ahead and vote for him.
That said, my picks for All-Star starters are based on current performance rather than legacy. Of course, we should default toward players with long track records of success to avoid being deceived by a fluky couple of months. But a focus on the current quality of the players means that I ended up with much younger starters in both conferences, including a pair of first-time picks. Let's take a look.
West backcourt
Stephen Curry
Position: PG
Golden State Warriors
Experience: 6 years
For those of you just tuning into the NBA this season, the reigning MVP has taken his play to another level in leading his team to the best start in league history. So it's safe to say Curry should be an All-Star starter, as he surely will be.
What is remarkable is that this will be just Curry's third All-Star appearance, leaving him four shy of Joe Johnson's total.
Russell Westbrook
Position: PG
Oklahoma City Thunder
Experience: 7 years
There's a decent case that Westbrook has actually been more valuable than Curry so far this season. He leads all players in wins generated from ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) and is a narrow second in my wins above replacement player metric behind Curry.
With Kevin Durant healthy, Westbrook's usage rate has dropped back to its pre-2014-15 level, but his assist rate (a career-high 9.9 per 36 minutes) has improved and so has his efficiency. Westbrook's .560 true shooting percentage is also a career best.
West frontcourt
Kawhi Leonard
Position: SF
San Antonio Spurs
Experience: 4 years
Leonard has yet to be an All-Star. This time a year ago, his breakout had been delayed by a hand ligament injury that limited him to 35 games before the All-Star break. During the second half, Leonard played at a top-10 level, and he's improved on that play thus far this season.
While Leonard's league-leading 49 percent 3-point accuracy is likely to regress, RPM rates him 10th in the league in offensive impact and even better (seventh) on defense. Yikes.
Kevin Durant
Position: SF
Oklahoma City Thunder
Experience: 8 years
So much for any concern about how Durant would come back from losing much of his 2014-15 season to a fractured metatarsal that required three separate surgeries. All the 2013-14 MVP has done is come within one made free throw of what would be his second 50-40-90 season.
Because of Westbrook's emergence, Durant's usage rate is down from his MVP peak, but the two stars have proven this season that they can both excel at the same time.
Draymond Green
Position: PF
Golden State Warriors
Experience: 3 years
Forget the notion that Green is a system player. Given the way his versatility unlocks everything the Warriors do at both ends of the court, Green is the system.
He obviously benefits from Curry's ability to draw two defenders on pick-and-rolls, allowing Green to lead a four-on-three attack, but Curry also can feel confident giving up the ball knowing that Green will make the right decision.
Green is fourth in the league in RPM and 10th in WARP, so there's little question he too deserves to start his All-Star debut.
Alas, Bryant's presence means one of my three frontcourt starters won't be voted in. Green narrowly edged out Leonard for the third and final spot in the most recent returns.
East backcourt
Kyle Lowry
Position: PG
Toronto Raptors
Experience: 9 years
Last month, John Wall told CSNmidatlantic.com "it's a joke," referring to voting returns that included Kyrie Irving second in East backcourt voting despite missing the season's first 24 games with the fractured patella he suffered in the 2015 NBA Finals.
However, Wall doesn't have the best case among East point guards who have been healthy all season. That would be Lowry, voted a starter last season thanks to a late push by Canadian fans.
After shedding weight, Lowry has been even better this season, ranking sixth in RPM and fourth in WARP. Wall is the better passer, but Lowry has the edge nearly everywhere else this season.
Jimmy Butler
Position: SG
Chicago Bulls
Experience: 4 years
Dwyane Wade isn't quite the legacy pick that Bryant is, since he's still the Miami Heat's first option on offense. Still, in terms of current production Butler has surpassed Wade as the top shooting guard in the East.
He has become a far more efficient shooter, making 49 percent of his 2-point attempts to Wade's 46.3 percent and getting to the line more often. And after taking a step back last season, Butler has reemerged as one of the NBA's top perimeter defenders.
East frontcourt
LeBron James
Position: SF
Cleveland Cavaliers
Experience: 12 years
Despite his difficulty making a shot outside the paint during the season's first two months, as chronicled by NBA.com's John Schuhmann, James is still the East's best player by RPM. Irving's return, along with Kevin Love's integration into the offense, has allowed James to take a step back in January.
If not quite as hyperefficient as in Miami, he's found a happy medium with last season's ball-dominant but inefficient style when Irving and Love were injured.
Paul Millsap
Position: PF
Atlanta Hawks
Experience: 9 years
After James, the last two spots in the East frontcourt get tricky. On current performance, one spot should go to Millsap, who has somehow come back even better than he was when the Hawks won 60 games last season.
In fact, Millsap has improved in basically every important statistical category: usage, true shooting percentage, rebound percentage and assists, steals and blocks per 36 minutes. Yet Millsap was a distant 15th in voting as of the last returns, even behind former teammate DeMarre Carroll.
Chris Bosh
Position: PF
Miami Heat
Experience: 12 years
For the last spot in the East frontcourt, there are strong cases for Carmelo Anthony (playing some of the best all-around basketball of his career), Paul George (who has slumped since a hot shooting start) and Andre Drummond (the best full-time center in the East, though that no longer necessarily matters). Two of those three will likely end up starting.
I'm giving the nod to Bosh, whose ability to swing between both frontcourt positions has given Heat coach Erik Spoelstra the luxury of tactical flexibility. Approaching midseason, Bosh is eight 3-pointers away from matching his career high. And he has anchored an outstanding defense while sliding to center in place of starter Hassan Whiteside often to finish games. RPM rates Bosh the East's fourth-best player this season behind James, Lowry and Millsap.