BOSTON — LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named the captains of the two teams that will take part in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game next month in Salt Lake City.
James ties Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — whom he is about to pass as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader — for most All-Star Game appearances with 19. James has now been a captain each of the six years the NBA has used the format of two captains drafting their individual teams. The Los Angeles Lakers star is averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in his age-38 season.
Antetokounmpo will be a captain for the third time, having done so in 2019 and 2020, and will be an All-Star for the seventh consecutive season. The Milwaukee Bucks star is averaging 31 points, 12 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game this season for the Bucks, who are a half-game behind the Philadelphia 76ers for second place in the Eastern Conference.
Joining James among starters selected from the Western Conference are New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
The other East starters alongside Antetokounmpo are Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and his teammate Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
The starters were selected by a weighted voting process that is derived from a fan vote being weighted as 50% of the final outcome and player and media votes each counting for 25%.
Sixers center Joel Embiid just missed the cut after ranking third among East frontcourt players in the player and media rankings but fourth in fan voting. Embiid garnered 4,900,482 fan votes to Tatum’s 5,221,720.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis placed third among West frontcourt players in fan voting but seventh and sixth in the player and media rankings, respectively.
Three voting groups determined the starters:
• Fans (50%)
• NBA players (25%)
• Media panel 25%)Complete voting results here: https://t.co/M8btg7M0GP
Below are the overall scores for the top finishers at each position. pic.twitter.com/HQ9W20Z6Ke
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 27, 2023
Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP, is having another spectacular season, averaging 25.1 points, 11 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game while shooting 62.9% for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, and will be playing in his fifth straight All-Star Game. Williamson, who is making…
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