LeBron James’ All-Star records are being extended.
Nevertheless, there weren’t many shocks when the NBA announced the starting lineup for Thursday night’s redesigned All-Star Game. James has officially been named an All-Star for the twenty-first year.
The additional starters:
The Eastern Conference guards are Donovan Mitchell of Cleveland and Jalen Brunson of New York.
The East frontcourt players are Karl-Anthony Towns of New York, Jayson Tatum of Boston, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee.
Stephen Curry of Golden State and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s top scorer, are the Western Conference guards.
James is joined by Kevin Durant of Phoenix and Nikola Jokic of Denver in the West frontcourt.
A weighted balloting system was used to choose the starters: existing players voted 25% of the time, a media panel voted 25%, and fans voted 50% of the time.
The head coaches of the league will vote to select the 14 other All-Stars who have not yet been named. On January 30, that list will be made public, and on February 16, the All-Star Game really takes place in San Francisco.
Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio, Anthony Davis of the Lakers, Damian Lillard of Milwaukee, the current All-Star Game MVP, Tyler Herro of Miami, Trae Young of Atlanta, and Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who received the most votes from East guard fans, were among the contenders for those reserve berths.
At least fifteen different players will start this season’s All-Star Game. There are three games in the inaugural year of a new All-Star format. Former NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith, together with TNT celebrities, will pick the 24 All-Stars into three teams of eight players each.
The remaining team will be composed of NBA rookies and second-year players from the Rising Stars event on All-Star Friday. Those three teams will compete in a four-team competition. The winners of the two semifinal matches advance to the title match. The first team to 40 points wins; the games should move swiftly.
The offensive record books were altered by the last two All-Star Games. The highest-scoring All-Star Game ever took place last year, with Boston’s Tatum setting an individual record with 55 points in 2023. The total score was 211-186.
LeBron at 40
After reaching 40, James is now eligible to make history as the third player to play in the All-Star Game. The others were Dirk Nowitzki, who made his All-Star finale at the age of 40, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who did so at the ages of 40 and 41.
After being selected for 21 straight years, James now has two more All-Star choices than any other player in NBA history (Abdul-Jabbar was selected 19 times), and he leads all other players by three years in terms of the longest run of consecutive selections. Kobe Bryant had the second-longest string of selections for 18 straight All-Star Games.
James will also start for the 21st year in a row. Boston’s Bob Cousy has the second-longest streak of All-Star starts at 13.
— AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds
