The 2023 NBA All-Star game is headed to Salt Lake City, and the game will follow the same format as in recent years, with starters being selected by a combination of fan (50 percent), media (25 percent), and player vote (25 percent), with reserved voted on by coaches after.
via: ESPN
LeBron James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career scoring record. And now, he has caught Abdul-Jabbar on another page of the All-Star record book.
James was announced Thursday as an NBA All-Star for the 19th time, the Los Angeles Lakers’ star tying Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history. James — the leading overall vote-getter — 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.
Eastern Conference starters
* Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)
Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets)
Western Conference starters
* LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans)
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
* Captains
Final fan vote totals ?? https://t.co/1aGcR38yuZ pic.twitter.com/Dv0osz0jlA
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 27, 2023
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.
James and Antetokounmpo will pick their teams shortly before the game in Salt Lake City, a newly announced twist and a departure from past years in which the captains picked a week or two in advance of All-Star weekend.
The other eight starters they’ll be choosing from, barring any changes because of injury beforehand, are: Denver’s two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic of Dallas, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson.
“I’m definitely blessed and humbled to be a part of this,” Mitchell said during the televised starters’ announcement on TNT. “To be a part of my fourth All-Star and now to be a starter, I couldn’t be happier.”
The #NBAAllStar Western Conference Starters:
?? LeBron James
?? Nikola Jokic
?? Luka Doncic
?? Zion Williamson
?? Steph Curry pic.twitter.com/3m6IER1Og1— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 27, 2023
The #NBAAllStar Eastern Conference Starters:
?? Giannis Antetokounmpo
?? Kevin Durant
?? Donovan Mitchell
?? Jayson Tatum
?? Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/B2UDisxSv2— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 27, 2023
