LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will captain the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
LeBron James is on pace for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career scoring streak. And now, he’s caught Abdul-Jabbar in another All-Star record book.
James, who was named the 19th NBA All-Star, tied Los Angeles Lakers star Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history. James – the overall vote-getter – will captain one of the teams in Salt Lake City on February 19, with Eastern Conference poll leader Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the other side of the Milwaukee Bucks.
• 2023 NBA All-Star | All star list
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)
This is the sixth year the NBA has used a captain format for the All-Star Game. James was the captain this year with a 5-0 record and never lost. Antetokounmpo is captain for the third time after being eligible for 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 where the captains chose a week or two ahead of All-Star weekend.
The other eight starters to pick, barring any changes due to injury, are Denver’s two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Dallas’ NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic, 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 in a televised debut announcement on TNT. “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of my fourth All-Star and now a starter.”
The biggest plot point was the third frontcourt position in the East, where Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid — No. 2 in the NBA scoring race entering Thursday at 33.4 points per game — was the top three in the polls behind Antetokounmpo, Durant and Tatum.
The starters – three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference – are selected by a combination of three separate votes: fan votes count for 50%, media voting counts for 25% and NBA players vote for the final 25%.
The reserves selected by the league’s coaches will be announced on February 2. Among the players who deserve strong consideration: Portland’s Damian Lillard, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Miami’s Bam Adebayo.
James has a total of 38,387 points, 157 points behind Abdul-Jabbar. At his current average of 29.9 points per game, James needs just five more games to break the record — and if he doesn’t miss a game in the interim, he’ll be on pace to pass Abdul-Jabbar on Feb. 7. Home game against Oklahoma City.
of #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
of #NBAAllStar Eastern Conference starters:
⭐️ Giannis Antetokounmpo
⭐️ Kevin Durant.
⭐️ Donovan Mitchell
⭐️ Jason Tatum
⭐️ Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/B2UDisxSv2— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 27, 2023
And that means it could be All-Star weekend, when James breaks Abdul-Jabbar’s 40-year-old record.
“Calculating when that could happen, at this point it looks like it could be before our All-Star break,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week in Paris. “If it’s before our All-Star break, it looks like this year’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City might be the perfect opportunity to celebrate it.”
James is now tied with Abdul-Jabbar for most All-Star selections, and if James plays in Salt Lake City, he will become the first player in NBA history to appear in 19 All-Star games. Abdul-Jabbar was selected for the 1973 game but did not play.
That would be another entry in James’ long list of all-star records. He is the first player to be selected to 19 consecutive All-Star Games – until Thursday, he shared that record with Kobe Bryant, who was selected 18 times, exactly three years ago Thursday, when the Lakers legend died on January 26, 2020.
If he starts correctly, it will be James’ 19th time doing so, four more in league history. Bryant made 15 starts. His 19 starts in a row extend another All-Star streak. Bob Cousy’s 13 straight starts is the second longest.
James is the All-Star leader in minutes, points, field goals and field goals attempted.
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