NEW YORK — Five players from East and West have been named 2023 All-Star Game holders, the NBA announced Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
- LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were selected as captains for garnering the most votes in their respective conferences. James has captained every All-Star game since the league transitioned to the current format six seasons ago, and has never lost.
- The fan vote is 50% of the vote for newbies; selected media voters make up 25% and player votes count 25%.
- The NBA will announce the All-Star reserves (chosen by the coaches) on February 2. For the first time, captains will choose teams minutes before the start of the All-Star Game on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City.
All-Star Game Starters
Eastern entrances
West entrances
The Biggest All-Star Starting Snubs
Remember, voters had to select three front row players and two guards from each conference, and there was no change. For example, neither Durant nor Tatum could be moved to guard, even though they handle the ball as much or more than the average guard. That meant four deserving forwards/centers for three spots, and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (33.4 ppg, 9.8 rebounds) was easily the biggest (and biggest) snub.
Dončić couldn’t be moved to a forward position either, even though he’s as tall or taller than many of them at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds averaging 9.1 rebounds per game. This led to a starter-worthy guard traffic jam between Curry, Ja Morant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA, for example, has scored the third most points in the league and will not start.
Other huge rebuffs include Domantas Sabonis of the Kings (leading the NBA in rebounds), Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers (leading the NBA in assists) and Jaylen Brown of the Celtics (average north of 27 points and seven boards in the best team in the league). — Vardon
Special moments
It is Mitchell’s first selection as an All-Star starter and comes in the game that takes place where he spent the first six seasons of his career. Mitchell played in three All-Star Games with the Jazz and was traded to Cleveland last summer as part of an organizational rebuild. One of the players Utah acquired as part of the Mitchell deal — Lauri Markkanen — will almost certainly be named a reserve.
Meanwhile, James, 38, was selected for his 19th All-Star Game, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record. However, assuming he is healthy, when LeBron takes the floor in Salt Lake City, he will become the NBA’s all-time leader in All-Star Games played, as Kareem has only appeared in 18 matches. James will likely have overtaken Kareem as the sport’s all-time leading goalscorer recently.
Williamson, 22, is making his second All-Star appearance and will start for the second time, but it would be his first ASG in which he was voted a starter – if he is eligible to play. He had previously been promoted to the starting lineup for the 2021 game for Embiid, which was part of the league’s health and safety protocols. Williamson has only played 29 games this season and is currently out with a hamstring injury.
Irving is heading to his eighth All-Star Game, but his first since the 2020-21 season. He’s had a tough time over the past two campaigns with multiple suspensions and/or extended absences. — Vardon
Who to look for next week
Voting is done by the 30 league coaches and they are not allowed to vote for their own players. They must choose two guards, three forwards/centers and two players at any position in each conference.
Let’s start with the rebuffs. In the East, Embiid (forward/centre), Brown (guard) and Haliburton (guard) are locks. And in the West, Sabonis (forward/center), Morant (guard averaging 27.3 points, 8.0 assists – easily starting numbers) and Gilgeous-Alexander (guard).
The rest of the East reserves could include DeMar DeRozan (guard) or Nikola Vucevic (forward/center) from the Bulls, possibly Trae Young (guard) from the Hawks, possibly Julius Randle from the Knicks (forward/center), or maybe Miami big man Bam Adebayo. Darius Garland (guard) and Jarrett Allen (forward/center) of the Cavs were All-Stars last season, but I’m not sure either will make it now.
While Markkanen (forward/center) wasn’t a snub per se, he’s going to be a shoo-in as a Jazz representative and also one of the best statistical performers of the season. Damian Lillard (guard) of the Trailblazers certainly has a chance (60 points usually helps), Anthony Edwards (guard) of Minnesota and potentially CJ McCollum (guard) of the Pelicans could supplement the reserves in the West. Lakers’ Anthony Davis (forward/center) has been brilliant in his limited legal action, but I’m having a hard time seeing coaches pick him, given how little he’s played (26 games). — Vardon
Compulsory reading
(Photo: Soobum Im/USA Today)
