Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell from the East, and Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James from the West were selected as NBA All-Star starters, according to the NBA . voting results announced on TNT on Thursday.
James will make his record 21st straight start as an All-Star and Curry, the longtime face of the Golden State Warriors, will now formally host the weekend with his 11th All-Star appearance. Currently, the Knicks are the only team with two All-Stars, despite being ranked third in the East.
Meanwhile, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball didn’t make the cut despite being the top fan vote-getter among the East guards, and in the West, sophomore sensation Victor Wembanyama narrowly lost out to Durant for the third starting spot among front court players.
The annual All-Star “event” – remember, it’s not just “one game” this season – takes place on February 16 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the formula for choosing starters; current NBA players and a media panel each accounted for 25 percent. Ball, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring at 29 points per game, was ranked third in player voting and seventh by media. Brunson, who averages 26.0 points for the New York Knicks, overtook Ball through media and player votes.
All other players selected as starters won fan votes at their respective positions. However, Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year who leads the league in blocks with 4.0 points per game, with his 24.6 points and 10.8 boards, nearly overtook Durant by finishing second among media members.
Seven reserve players from each conference are chosen by the league’s head coaches and those results are released January 30. There will be a lot of interest in seeing who makes the cut in a crowded field of talented point guards from the East. In addition to Ball, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks will get a lot of attention as the top assists man in the NBA (11.6 assists per game), as will Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks and possibly Tyrese Haliburton. of the Indiana Pacers or Darius Garland of the Cavs.
Look for Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, and possibly his teammate, Jarrett Allen, to receive strong consideration as a backup. Miami’s Bam Adebayo will also be a long watch.
Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks, a perennial MVP candidate, played just 22 games this season due to injury, but averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in those games. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards also expects to get a lot of attention as a reserve guard. Anthony Davis of the Lakers also wants to join James as an All-Star.
A new All-Star format
For the first time, the All-Star Game is now a three-team mini-tournament consisting of the 24 Stars and the team that wins the Rising Stars Challenge, featuring the league’s top rookies and second-year players. Because of the new format, some players selected by coaches as All-Star “reserves” will naturally be starters for their tournament teams.
The 24 All-Star players are selected by TNT’s three analysts – Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal – who serve as honorary general managers for the three All-Star teams. They will divide the teams into three groups of eight All-Stars on February 6, prior to TNT’s weekly doubleheader.
The new format includes three matches – two semi-finals and the championship – in which the winner is the team that reaches 40 or more points first. There is a prize pool of $1.8 million, with the champion team earning $125,000 per player.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault and Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson have secured spots as coaches for the All-Star event, as their teams secured first place in their respective conferences through the league’s cutoff date on Feb. 2.
One of Daigneault’s assistants will coach the Rising Stars champion or All-Star third team, and one of Atkinson’s assistants will coach the other. Both Daigneault and Atkinson will serve as All-Star head coaches for the first time.
Required reading
(Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)