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Tim BontempsESPN
Boston — lebron james When Giannis Antetokounmpo He has been named captain of two teams participating in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City next month.
James Thai Kareem Abdul Jabbar James now serves as each captain in the six years the NBA has utilized the format of drafting two captains. individual team. The Los Angeles Lakers star is averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in his NBA season at age 38.
Antetokounmpo will be captain for the third time in his career, following 2019 and 2020, and will be named an All-Star for the seventh straight season. Milwaukee The Bucks star is averaging 31 points, 12 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Bucks this season, coming into Thursday’s game second in the Eastern his conference, half a game behind the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joining James among the Western Conference starters is the New Orleans Pelicans forward. Zion WilliamsonDenver Nuggets Center Nikola JokicGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and the Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
Alongside Antetokounmpo, East starters are Brooklyn Nets forwards Kevin Durant and his teammate Kyrie IrvingBoston Celtics forward Jason Tatum and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
the starter is weighted voting process This is because fan votes are weighted as 50% of the final result. Both the player and media portions of the vote count as 25% each.
Philadelphia 76ers Center Joel Embiid After being ranked 3rd among East Frontcourt players in player and media rankings, he missed the cut but finished 4th in media rankings. fan voteEmbiid received 4,900,482 fan votes to Tatum’s 5,221,720 votes.
lakers forward Anthony Davis Although he was third among West Frontcourt players in fan polls, he was seventh and sixth in player and media rankings respectively.
Three voting groups determined the starters.
• Fans (50%)
• NBA players (25%)
• Media Panel 25%)See the full poll results here: https://t.co/M8btg7M0GP
Below are the combined scores of the top finishers for each position. pic.twitter.com/HQ9W20Z6Ke
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 27, 2023
A two-time Most Valuable Player, Jokic is having a great season with the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, averaging 25.1 points, 11 rebounds, 9.9 assists and shooting 62% for the fifth straight season. I plan to play in the All-Star Game. Williamson, who is making his second All-Star Game appearance, is averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 29 games, but has been sidelined since January 2 with a hamstring injury.
Curry also recovered from a shoulder injury that cost him several weeks this season and was also a nine-time All-Star, averaging 29.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Doncic, who leads the NBA with 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game, was drafted for the fourth straight year.
Durant, a 13th-time All-Star, could miss a third straight season due to injury after suffering an MCL sprain on Jan. 8. The last time Durant played in an All-Star Game was It was 2019., when he was named Most Valuable Player. However, he missed the entire 2019-20 season due to rehab from surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, after which an injury has kept him out of the game for the past two seasons. several weeks.
“I was like, ‘S—, another year of not playing with my old teammates. At that point, I might miss the All-Star Game and not play with LeBron James at home.’ Earlier this week, Durant was asked about his frustration at missing another chunk of the season due to injury. I look forward to that in addition to playing .But it’s also part of basketball.”
Meanwhile, Irving averaged 26.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the Nets this season and made eight All-Star appearances. ‘ following his tweet promoting the film containing anti-Semitic tropes.
Tatum is currently in his fourth All-Star Game. After subsiding for Durant last season, he made his first appearance as an elected starter and is averaging 31 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the league-leading Celtics. Mitchell will also make his first start and will do so in the city he has called home for the past five years.
Mitchell, who is in his fourth straight All-Star Game, had a great season in his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers following a hit trade to Northeast Ohio in September. With 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists, the Cleveland team hopes to reach the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster for the first time in 30 years.
In a video interview with TNT shortly after the announcement, Mitchell said, “I’m definitely lucky and honored to be a part of this.” I know there are [in Cleveland] Where…they trust me, they trust me to get out there and do what I do. And without my teammates and coaches, I wouldn’t be here. ”
Each conference’s seven-man All-Star Reserve, as voted for by each conference’s coaches, will be announced next Thursday. .
As captains, James and Antetokounmpo will be responsible for drafting the team.
