LeBron James may not have been selected as a starter, but on Sunday the Los Angeles Lakers star was named to a record-extending 22nd NBA All-Star Game as a reserve from the Western Conference.
Kevin Durant was picked for his 16th All-Star Game, also as a reserve, after neither NBA great was selected among the five starters from the West. Meanwhile, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets and Norman Powell of the Miami Heat highlight six first-time All-Stars revealed Sunday.
The All-Star Game, scheduled for Feb. 15 in Inglewood, Calif., will feature a new format with two teams of U.S. players and one “World” team made up of international players. They will play a round-robin tournament of 12-minute games, after which the teams with the best records will play for the championship.
The rosters will be revealed on Tuesday, with each featuring eight players.
Expect the World team to include Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), the Lakers’ Luka Doncic (Slovenia), Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Denver’s Nikola Jokic (Serbia), and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama (France), each of whom was named a starter.
The three international players to be named reserves Sunday were Indiana’s Pascal Siakam (Cameroon), Portland’s Deni Avdija (Israel) and Murray (Canada).
It marks the first All-Star selection for Avdija, Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, along with Murray and Powell. All six of those players are enjoying career seasons, particularly Murray, whose 25.8 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game are career highs.
Six-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard (27.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals per game) did not make the cut, meaning the Los Angeles Clippers, the All-Star Game hosts, will not be represented.
Eastern Conference Starters
–Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
–Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
–Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
–Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
–Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern Conference Reserves
–Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
–Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
–Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
–Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
–Norman Powell, Miami Heat
–Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
–Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
Western Conference Starters
–Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
–Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
–Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
–Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
–Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Western Conference Reserves
–Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
–Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
–Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
–Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
–Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
–LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
–Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
