The captains and starting five of the two teams that will face each other on February 19 in Salt Lake City during the NBA All Star Game were announced on Thursday. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, stars of the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, were named captains by vote (50% by fans, 25% by players and 25% by media). James will captain for the sixth consecutive year and Antetokounmpo for the third time in his career, the first since 2020.
“King James” was elected to the All Star Game for the 19th time in his career, in 20 NBA seasons. He thus equaled the record of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, legend of the North American pro league in the 70s and 80s under the colors of … Milwaukee then the Lakers. James also became the only player to be capped 19 times in a row.
Durant, Tatum, Jokic and Doncic among starters
The vote also allowed the composition of the starting five. The Eastern Conference team – which will be called “Team Giannis” – will also include Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers).
That of the Western Conference – “Team LeBron”, which has won the last five editions of the All Star Game – will be made up of Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) and Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans).
The replacements known on February 2
The 10 players selected Thursday have all participated in at least one All Star Game before. Durant was elected for the 13th time in his career and Curry for the ninth. There will be a novelty for the 2023 edition of the “Match of the Stars”: the captains will compose their teams just before the match, just to maintain the suspense.
The replacement players, 11 for each team, will be known on February 2. This time it will be the coaches of the NBA franchises who will decide.
