{"id":314835,"date":"2023-01-27T07:45:57","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T06:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/?p=314835"},"modified":"2023-01-27T07:45:57","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T06:45:57","slug":"2023-nba-all-star-starters-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/2023-nba-all-star-starters-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 NBA All-Star starters announced"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LeBron James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s NBA career scoring record. And now, he has caught Abdul-Jabbar on another page of the All-Star record book.<\/p>\n

James was announced Thursday as an NBA All-Star for the 19th time, the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 star tying Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history. James \u2014 the leading overall vote-getter \u2014 will be the captain of one of the teams for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, while Eastern Conference voting leader Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will captain the other side.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a02023 NBA All-Star\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0All-Star roster\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Eastern Conference starters<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)<\/li>\n
  • Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)<\/li>\n
  • Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)<\/li>\n
  • Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)<\/li>\n
  • Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Western Conference starters<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    • LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)<\/li>\n
    • Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)<\/li>\n
    • Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans)<\/li>\n
    • Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)<\/li>\n
    • Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n

      This is the sixth year the NBA has used the captain format for the All-Star Game; James has been a captain every time and has never lost, taking a 5-0 record into this year. Antetokounmpo is a captain for the third time, after also earning that right in 2019 and 2020.<\/p>\n

      James and Antetokounmpo will\u00a0pick their teams<\/a>\u00a0shortly before the game in Salt Lake City,\u00a0a newly announced twist\u00a0and a departure from past years in which the captains picked a week or two in advance of All-Star weekend.<\/p>\n

      The other eight starters they\u2019ll be choosing from, barring any changes because of injury beforehand, are: Denver\u2019s two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic of Dallas, Golden State\u2019s Stephen Curry, Boston\u2019s Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Cleveland\u2019s Donovan Mitchell and New Orleans\u2019 Zion Williamson.<\/p>\n

      \u201cI\u2019m definitely blessed and humbled to be a part of this,\u201d Mitchell said during the televised starters\u2019 announcement on TNT. \u201cTo be a part of my fourth All-Star and now to be a starter, I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

      The big intrigue was the third East frontcourt spot, where Philadelphia\u2019s Joel Embiid \u2014 No. 2 in the NBA\u2019s scoring race entering Thursday at 33.4 points per game \u2014 was the odd man out after Antetokounmpo, Durant and Tatum were the top three in the balloting.<\/p>\n

      Starters \u2014 three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference \u2014 were selected by a combination of three different votes: fan balloting counted for 50%, media balloting was worth 25% and voting by the NBA\u2019s players made up the final 25%.<\/p>\n

      The reserves, which are chosen by votes from the league\u2019s coaches, will be announced Feb. 2. Among the players certain to merit strong consideration: Portland\u2019s Damian Lillard, Oklahoma City\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Boston\u2019s Jaylen Brown and Miami\u2019s Bam Adebayo.<\/p>\n

      James is 157 points away from Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s career scoring total of 38,387 points. At his current average of 29.9 points per game, James will need just over five games to break the record \u2013 and, if he doesn\u2019t miss any games in the interim, would be on pace to pass Abdul-Jabbar in a Feb. 7 home game against Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n