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LeBron James, Kevin Durant Appointed Captains Again For All-Star Game As Starter Team Announced


LeBron James and Kevin Durant will once again captain two teams in this year’s All-Star Game, as the NBA announced Thursday night the starters for the annual mid-season rollout to be held on May 20. 2 in Cleveland.

James, who has now been captain for every five years the NBA has used the current system to select his teams, and Durant, who finished second for the second year in a row, took the honor of finishing with more fan votes than anyone in their respective conventions.

James now has 18 All-Star teams, surpassing Kobe Bryant in second place of all time Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19).

Joining James as Western Conference starters are Golden Empire Warriors guard Stephen the curry and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant in the background, along with the reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic afterward Denver Nuggets and forward Andrew Wiggins of the Warriors in the hallway.

From the East, Durant, a 12-time All-Star, joins Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young in the back, and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks front Giannis Antetokounmpo in the hallway. Durant’s readiness for the game is a question mark as he continues his post-recovery Sprained knee ligament.

The fact that Wiggins was selected as the starter was somewhat of a surprise, even though he is averaging 18.1 points per game.

Selection for starters is based on fan votes giving 50% of the vote, and a media panel and current players each taking 25%.

Wiggins was able to side with his teammates Draymond Green for the third West Facade location. Wiggins received fewer player and media votes, but he was third in fan votes while Green was sixth. As a result, Wiggins finished with a weighted score of 4.25 points; Green stands at 4.75.

“It was amazing,” Wiggins said of finding out he was an All-Star starter. “I was taking a nap during my pregnancy when my daughter and daughter woke me up and told me ‘You’re the starter, you’re the starter.’ I thought I was dreaming for a second.

“I’ve done a lot of work and I’ve found a home here. Hopefully I can keep going and this won’t be the last.”

According to research by the Elias Sports Bureau, Wiggins was the third first All-Star to be selected as a starter in the eighth season or later (Bob Boozer in his eighth season in 1967-68; Kyle Lowry in his ninth season in 2014-15). He’s the 40th different No. 1 overall pick in the modern draft (since 1966) to be an All-Star team in his career – but the first not to make it to the 5th season. eight or later.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he was pleased to see Wiggins’ work pay off.

“One of the proudest moments just to see what Wiggs has accomplished since he’s been here a few years,” Kerr said. “The journey he’s been on has been difficult at times, and to see how hard he worked and see all the work pay off, it couldn’t be happier for him. ”

Curry, now an eight-time All-Star, helped bring Golden State back into the upper division of the Western Conference after two years of injury interrupted the Warriors’ five-game NBA Finals streak. Meanwhile, Morant made his All-Star debut as Memphis, one of the most exciting teams in the league, having pushed themselves down to third in the West.

Jokic, playing in his fourth consecutive All-Star, went on to claim last year’s MVP by averaging 26.2 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game for Denver in This season, keep the Nuggets afloat while missing Jamal Murray in the entire season so far and Michael Porter Jr. for all but some games.

DeRozan, who joined the Bulls as a free agent this summer after playing the previous two seasons with San Antonio Spurs, played a huge role in Chicago’s resurgence to the top of the Eastern Conference standings, winning the MVP through impressive clutch play while averaging 26.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 support. This is his fifth All-Star pick.

His nod was announced by his Bulls teammates Zach LaVine — who finished just after a vote in favor of Young in the East — while the team was boarding a flight to San Antonio to play a game Friday night.

DeRozan said afterwards: “We are not younger in this league. “So for me it’s just to get over all that I’ve been through. And to step into a new situation and everything that’s been going on the team wisely, that makes it special to come back and not just an All-Star but being voted starter.It was just one of those moments where you know I don’t know what to call it, I can’t even give it a title; but I feel great. “

Young became his second All-Star team; he averaged 27.7 points and 9.3 assists while hitting a career-best shot rate of 45.3% overall and 38% from the 3-point range.

While Philadelphia went through the season without an All-Star guard Ben Simmons, Embiid overcame the slack, hitting an average career high of points (29) and assists (4.3) per game, as well as a 3-point rate (38%) to keep the 76ers in the middle. Eastern playoff picture. And Antetokounmpo has been a regular scorer for the Bucks this season amid injuries and COVID-19 absences, averaging 28.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists. in career every game.

All-Star substitutes, who will be selected by coaches in both conferences, will be announced next Thursday on TNT. James and Durant will then choose their respective teams, a format in which the tournament was first established in 2018.

ESPN’s Jamal Collier contributed to this report





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