NBA: James, Antetokounmpo will captain All-Star teams
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Lakers forward LeBron James (6) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) exchange hugs.
PHOTO: USA TODAY SPORTS
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LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo will captain the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game teams in February, after final voting that saw Philadelphia star Joel Embiid fail to earn a starting spot.
James will tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – the man he is on track to overtake as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer – for most All-Star Game appearances with 19.
The four-time NBA champion, who is averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists this season, has now served as a captain – as the top vote-getter from his conference – in each of the six years that the league has used the format of captains selecting their teams from among all the available players.
Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, will be a captain for the third time, having led a team in 2019 and 2020.
Joining James among starters selected from the Western Conference are New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
The other starters from the East are Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and teammate Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
Fan voting accounted for 50 per cent of the voting, with voting among NBA players and a media panel each accounting for 25 per cent of the vote.
Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP, will be playing in a fifth straight All-Star Game. He is averaging 25.1 points, 11 rebounds and 9.9 assists for Denver, who lead the Western Conference.
Williamson is averaging 26 points, seven rebounds and 4.6 assists for New Orleans, but he has been sidelined by a hamstring injury since Jan 2.
Durant earned a 13th straight All-Star nod, but it is not clear if he will be available for the game in Salt Lake City on Feb 19.
He has not played since spraining a knee ligament on Jan 8 and could miss the mid-season exhibition for a third straight year.
Irving, meanwhile, has made an eighth All-Star team while Tatum will play in his fourth – his first as an elected starter.
Mitchell will also be making his first start, and it will come in the home of the Utah Jazz team that traded him to Cleveland in September.
The All-Star reserves, who are selected by NBA coaches, will be announced next week and the captains will select their teams shortly before the game starts.
That is a change from recent years, when the draft was conducted virtually in the lead-up to All-Star Weekend.
Joining Embiid among the marquee names who missed out on starting berths are Memphis’ Ja Morant, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Philadelphia’s James Harden and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis – although any of them could yet be selected as reserves. AFP
