Let me begin this column with a confession: I hate the NBA All-Star Game.

Just despise it. Can’t stand it. Only watch bits and pieces because it’s kinda, sorta part of my job. If only they played hard, I’d love it (but that’s another column all together).

But let me clarify: I love All-Stars.

In fact, when it comes to sports, I love all stars.

You follow?

Stars make sports — at least the ones I enjoy watching — great. Don’t bother me with your “There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM,” Coach.  I’ll be glued to my television watching the “me guy” who knows that without him, there’s no “W’ in TEAM either. I want to see the dude who’s brash enough, who’s unapologetic enough, who doesn’t care about anything other than letting you know he’s the baddest man on the planet when the moment is big enough.

Mohammad Ali. Michael Jordan. Reggie Jackson. Wayne Gretzky. John Elway. Kobe Bryant. And, Tom – yes, I said it – Brady.

The best thing about the NBA All-Star game is that it’s one game full of those guys. Since they were 8 years old, they’ve been the star on every team, at every level. And now they’re stars among stars. They just know that when the big shot is needed, they’re supposed to take it – each and every one of them. Sure, there are probably some horribly wrong social and cultural aspects of this lifetime atop a pedestal (hey, I didn’t say stars are the best people), but nonetheless, it makes for great entertainment. The problem is that when assembled like this, they don’t play as hard or as well as they’re capable; turns out, given their salaries, that risking injury while trying to prove their stardom is unnecessary (we just told them they were the elite-est of the elite – what’s to prove?).

Thus, it pains me to look down the Western Conference All-Star roster and not see a single Nugget.

When I was a kid, Fat Lever and Alex English were constants in the NBA All-Star Game. Those were my guys, and it was a feather in my cap just knowing that Denver was represented. I was mad when Carmelo Anthony got snubbed early in his career (like him or not, he was a star, plain and simple). And I was thrilled when Chauncey Billups represented Denver five times in the All-Star Game (twice with the Nuggets and three times with the Pistons).

In the NBA, if you don’t have a star, you’ve got nuthin’. The Nuggets will soon have one in Jamal Murray, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Stars are important in every sport, though. In basketball, it’s a requirement for winning a title. In other sports, that’s debatable.

What’s not debatable, however, is how much you (if you’re being honest with yourself) and I give a damn about a team that’s devoid of stars. Look no further than Pepsi Center — when the Nuggets or Avs have stars, fans turn out in droves. When they don’t, well, they don’t. When the Nuggets had the likes of Melo, A.I. and the King of Park Hill (full names not necessary, because you know who I’m talkin’ ‘bout, Willis) the Can was full. When the Avs had Roy, Sakic, Forsberg, and Bourque, same thing.

“We’re a pack-rat society; everybody goes wherever the pack goes,” says Vic Lombardi, who attended the NBA All Star Game, rubbed elbows with the likes of Charles Barkley and A-Rod, and only “sort of” caught the game itself. “Everyone goes to see the stars. And the crowd goes wherever everyone else is going. Everyone goes that weekend.”

Extrapolate that theory, if you will, to the current state of Denver sports. Identify the stars and one can thus identify which team(s) in Denver are the hottest. Here’s how I’d rank them.

No. 1 – Colorado Rockies

Don’t look now, Denver, but the Rockies have more bona fide stars than any team in Denver, and it’s not even close. Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon are household names outside of Colorado, and Carlos Gonzalez was before that. Throw in the fact that Wade Davis was just signed, DJ LeMahieu is a perennial Gold Golf/Silver Slugger/All-Star and whoever plays first base seemingly always hits a lot of bombs, and it’s hard to take our eyes off the Rox, win or lose.

No. 2 – Colorado Avalanche

Huh? Yes, you read that correctly. That’s how big a star, relative to his sport, Nathan MacKinnon is, and is going to be for years to come. Hockey in general is devoid of stars (that’s not a knock, it’s just the mindset of these ho-hum, team-first Canucks), so when your team has one — that guy you simply can’t take your eyes off while he’s on the ice — your team really has something.

No. 3 – Colorado Rapids

Don’t laugh. It’s the truth. Whether or not you’re interested in soccer is beside the point. The fact of the matter is that Tim Howard is a star as big or bigger than anyone else in Denver sports. Around the globe, it’s probably safe to say that he’s the most well-known local athlete. Add Shkelzen Gashi, newly acquired Danny Wilson and USMNT call-up Marlon Hairston to the argument, and you’ve got a roster that’s respected far beyond the borders of the United States.

No. 4 – Denver Nuggets*

This one comes with an asterisk, because a year from now, this ranking will be about four places too low. Jamal Murry will be a star — a big, fat, bright one. He’s got the skill. He’s got the killer instinct. He’s got the wow factor. The problem is, he’s only 20 years old, so he’s not quite yet to his peak (that’s actually a great thing). Nikola Jokic is a star, statistically, but he might lack the “star power” and swagger that the typical NBA All-Star possesses. (“There can only be one Alpha,” Lombardi said after spending All-Star Weekend in L.A.). Don’t pass up Gary Harris, too — he has star potential. And that’s just fine, as a “1” and “1A” star combo in the NBA can take a team a long, long way. When the Nuggets make the playoffs this spring, the entire NBA world will suddenly be introduced to Murray, Jokic and Harris. Stars on the rise, no doubt.

No. 5 – Denver Broncos

Wait. Just wait. Before you get your orange underpants in a twist, just hear me out. Yes, by sheer numbers, the Broncos have the most stars — there’s no debate there. And by national popularity, they might have Denver’s biggest star in Von Miller. (He’s entertaining 12 months a year.) But it’s football and two truths matter: First, there are 22 starting players who have a chance to stake claim at the title of star. In basketball, one star can practically beat five “good” players on any given night. In football, two players can double team one Miller, and, well, he’s not a star that game. He’s extremely valuable, just auspiciously missing from SportsCenter that night. The second problem is that in football, the one star any team must have plays one position and one position only — quarterback. (If Peyton Manning were still playing, the Broncos would be atop the list). The Broncos currently don’t currently have a quarterback (period), much less one that’s a star.

So, who you gonna watch?

You’ll be gazing at the stars, just as you should. Denver sports currently has a bevy of stars. Next year, they’ll even be in the NBA All-Star Game.

I might even watch.