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Tim Bontemps
The NBA on Monday announced its starting players for next month’s All-Star Game — and, for the first time in a generation, Los Angeles Lakers Ahead Lebron James Was not listed among them.
his partner luka doncic Led the Western Conference voting and joined denver nuggets Center Nikola Jokic, oklahoma city thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio Spurs Center Victor Wembanyama And Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. milwaukee bucks Ahead giannis antetokounmpo Have topped the polls in the past and will join new York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, philadelphia 76ers guard tyreese maxi, detroit pistons guard Cade Cunningham And boston celtics Ahead jaylen brown.
But the biggest news of the selection process was the omission of James, who was selected to and named the starter for a record 21 All-Star Games in his career – every time since the 2005 game in Denver. But this year he wasn’t even close to getting enough votes to move into the West’s starting five. James missed the first 14 games of the season due to sciatica and then had a slow start after returning to the court, including his remarkable streak of 1,297 consecutive games with at least 10 points. toronto Last month. All of this has left his potential inclusion in this year’s All-Star Game up to the league’s coaches.
Although James was not selected as the starter, Curry was named to the All-Star Game for the 12th time in his Hall of Fame career, as he averaged 27.6 points per game on his 38th birthday. The second player to reach double figures in All-Star appearances on Monday was Antetokounmpo, who led the way for East starters and is in the midst of his latest monster statistical season (28.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists), though his Bucks remain 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Meanwhile, Doncic resumed his All-Star streak after missing games last year with a calf injury, which was sparked by his spectacular trade with the Lakers. He leads the fan voting and is averaging 33.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.6 assists. It’s been another incredible season for Jokic, who was putting up staggering statistics before missing the last few weeks due to a knee injury: 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists. The same can be said for reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 31.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists for the league-leading Thunder.
The other Western Conference All-Star spot went to Wembanyama, who made his first All-Star start after earning his first selection last season and averaged 24.5 points, 10.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.6 blocks per game.
In the East, Antetokounmpo was joined by Cunningham, who is making his second appearance and first start as leader of the former Pistons, who are on pace to win 60 games after making a meteoric leap for the second consecutive season. There’s Maxey, a two-time All-Star and first-time starter, who is averaging more than 30 points for the first time in his career and has contributed to Philadelphia’s return to the Eastern playoff picture after last year’s disastrous campaign. Brunson, averaging 28.2 points and 6.1 assists, will make his third consecutive All-Star appearance for the Knicks.
The final East spot went to Brown, who is averaging a career-best 29.7 points for the surprising Celtics, who are in second place in the conference entering Monday night’s showdown against the Pistons, 4½ games behind Detroit.
The voting process is made up of three groups: fan voting, which makes up 50%; a panel of media voters, making up 25%; And player voting is also 25%.
The reserves will be announced Sunday and will be selected by NBA coaches.
This year, the All-Star Game has adopted a “Team USA vs. the World” format, with the pool of All-Stars ultimately divided into three rosters; Two will be made up of American players, with the third made up of international players.
Monday’s start included five American and five international players. If, after the 14 reserves are announced, fewer than 16 American or eight international players are selected, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will add more All-Stars until the minimum requirements are met to fill the three rosters in the game.
