LOS ANGELES (AFP) – LeBron James and Stephen Curry led the voting for NBA All-Star Game starters announced Thursday and will serve as team captains in the league’s new-look mid-season exhibition on February 18.
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, was the top vote-getter among fans in the Eastern Conference and overall, garnering 2,638,294 votes.
He will therefore get to choose first when the captains pick their teams from the 10 starters named Thursday and the reserves to be selected by NBA coaches.
Golden State Warriors star Curry led the balloting in the Western Conference with 2,379,494 fan votes.
The captains can choose players from either conference as the game moves away for the first time from its East versus West format.
The new approach adds some intrigue, with James having first dibs, for instance, on Curry’s teammate Kevin Durant or his own former teammate Irving.
But the selection process won’t be held in public, the NBA opting to hold that schoolyard-style process behind closed doors and announce the results.
Among the starters named Thursday, James will be making his 14th consecutive All-Star appearance. Other Eastern Conference players elected in voting by fans, players and a media panel are the Milwaukee Bucks’ Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Australian-born American Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Cameroonian star Joel Embiid.
