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Voters have spoken: they want defending champion Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James to be all-star captain again.
So there is. And Kevin Durant of Brooklyn will be his opposition.
James and Durant were revealed Thursday as the top fan vote holders in the Western and Eastern conferences for the All-Star Game, meaning they will be captains for the game in Atlanta on March 7. . , and Durant is an All-Star for the 11th time.
Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) and Kobe Bryant (18) have more All-Star selections than James.
The other starters: Nikola Jokic of Denver and Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers join James as the West frontcourt pick, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Dallas’ Luka Doncic are the West’s starting guards, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and Joel Embiid of Philadelphia are alongside Durant as the East Frontcourt starters, while Bradley Beal of Washington and Kyrie Irving of Brooklyn are the starting guards in the East.
Doncic and Portland’s Damian Lillard were tied in the NBA’s weighted system for second west guard; Doncic got the nod because he got more fan votes. Fan votes accounted for 50% of the starter selection process; player votes accounted for 25% of the total, and votes from a media panel represented the remaining 25%.
The result has frustrated many fans and former players who claim Lillard is the NBA’s in-form player at the moment.
Former NBA player Kenny Smith has criticized the Portland goalie’s snobbery.
“Popularity contest, Luka is going to win, but as Shaq said, the most feared man in basketball right now is Damian Lillard,” he told TNT.
Reservations will be announced Tuesday, to be decided by vote of the NBA head coaches. James – the leading poll pollster this year, with more than 5.9 million fan votes – and Durant will then pick their teams, with Team LeBron and Team Durant rosters due to be revealed on March 4.
James is 3-0 since the NBA transitioned to player-captain format, beating Team Curry in 2018 and Team Antetokounmpo in each of the past two seasons. Quin Snyder of Utah Jazz to coach James’ team in Atlanta; Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers is currently the favorite to coach Durant’s team, with the standings after Sunday’s games to decide that spot.
The starters were revealed the same day the NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced details of the game, claiming it will generate more than $ 2.5 million for historically black colleges and COVID-relief efforts. 19.
The game has been criticized by some of the league’s top players, including James, who have expressed concerns about a pandemic. It also sparked concern from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who made it clear that fans should not come to the city for the All-Star festivities as there will be no public events surrounding the match.
But charitable elements have played a major role in the league’s pursuit, and Commissioner Adam Silver said the game provides a platform to shed light on HBCUs and the continued need for resources in the fight against COVID. -19.
“NBA All-Star Atlanta will continue our annual tradition of celebrating the game and the world’s greatest players in front of a global audience,” said Silver.
The game brings back the format that was used last year: a target score to complete the game, something that will once again pay homage to Bryant. Each of the first three quarters will start with a score of 0-0, then will be recalculated for an untimed fourth quarter. The overall lead score during the three quarters will have 24 points – a nod to Bryant’s jersey number – added, and the first team to reach that goal will win the game.
This last-shot-winning format made its debut last season, when Anthony Davis delivered a late-game free throw to cap Team LeBron’s 157-155 win.
The game will partner with organizations such as the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund to “highlight the importance of HBCUs and raise awareness of the disparate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color,” said the league. HBCU musical groups are also invited to perform virtually.
“HBCUs have provided quality education to our communities at a time when access to higher education has been denied to us,” said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts. “They were there – and stayed there – for us. We are now with them.”
The league told teams this week it will organize a private trip to Atlanta for all participants, who will continue to be tested for the coronavirus; players were tested daily throughout the season. They won’t be able to leave their hotels, except for All-Star events, a mini-bubble concept that the NBA and NBPA have agreed to in recent days. And if a small number of guests will be in the stands, tickets will not be available.
James, Antetokounmpo and others weren’t too excited about the game being played, noting both concerns about the pandemic and how deep it is in an already compressed season.
“We know it’s happening and we know we are required and expected to be there,” Curry said. “It’s kind of what it is.”
Players and their guests will need to arrive in Atlanta by 7:00 p.m. on March 6 and leave after the game the following night. The 3-point shootout, skills competition, and dunk competition are also scheduled for March 7.
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