LeBron James picked for 21st straight All-Star Game, extending NBA record

— New York’s Jalen Brunson and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell as the Eastern Conference guards.

— Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns as the East frontcourt players.

— Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and Denver’s Nikola Jokic as the West frontcourt players alongside James.

The starters were picked through a system of weighted balloting: 50% was fan voting, 25% was a media panel and 25% was voting by current players.

There are 14 more All-Stars yet to be announced, and they’ll be chosen in a vote of the league’s head coaches. That list will be revealed on Jan. 30, and the All-Star Game — now games, really — happens in San Francisco on Feb. 16.

Among the candidates for those reserve spots: San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, reigning All-Star Game MVP Damian Lillard of Milwaukee, Miami’s Tyler Herro, Atlanta’s Trae Young and Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball — who led East guard fan voting.

There will be at least 15 different players who “start” at the All-Star Game this season. It’s the first year of a new All-Star format, with three games. The 24 All-Stars will be drafted into three teams of eight players apiece by TNT personalities and former NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

Those three teams will be entered into a four-team tournament, with the remaining squad made up of NBA rookies and second-year players from the Rising Stars event on All-Star Friday. There are two semifinal games, with the winners meeting in a championship game. The games should go quickly; the first team to reach 40 points wins.

The last two All-Star Games rewrote the offensive record books. Boston’s Tatum set an individual record with 55 points in 2023, and last year’s final score was 211-186 — the highest-scoring All-Star Game ever.

LeBron at 40

James is now in line to become the third player to appear in the All-Star Game after turning 40. The others: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who did so at 40 and 41, and Dirk Nowitzki, whose All-Star finale came when he was 40.

James — a pick for 21 straight years — now has two more All-Star selections than anyone else in NBA history (Abdul-Jabbar was a 19-time pick) and is three years clear of anyone else for the longest streak of consecutive selections. Kobe Bryant was picked for 18 consecutive All-Star Games, the second-longest such streak.

James is also set to start for the 21st consecutive year. The second-longest streak of All-Star starts is 13, by Boston’s Bob Cousy.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

LeBron James picked for 21st straight All-Star Game, extending NBA record

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