John Calipari’s goal of having half of the NBA All-Star Game comprised of Kentucky products may not have come to fruition yet, but many of his former players are legitimate NBA stars.
In the annual NBA GM survey, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker all received recognition.
Towns, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year from Piscataway, N.J. and the Minnesota Timberwolves, was the pick of 48.3 percent of general managers for who they would sign if they were starting a franchise from scratch.
Golden State’s Kevin Durant was a distant second at 20.7 percent, while LeBron James was third at 17.2 percent.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ Davis received 86.2 percent of the vote before last season but fell dramatically out of the top-3.
Still, Davis was the pick for the NBA’s best power forward at 29 percent, followed by James at 19.4 percent.
Meantime, the Phoenix Suns’ Booker was selected the player most likely to have a breakout season with 31 percent of votes. Towns was second at 13.8 percent.
“Our goal is not just to help guys get in the league,” Calipari said last year. “We want guys to become All-Stars. … Our goal would be to say, ‘Hey, half the NBA All-Stars started with us.’”
