IT’S Team LeBron vs Team Curry in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry were officially announced as team captains after getting the most number of fan votes for the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, when the results of the voting were announced by the NBA on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
Voted in as starters from the East are Milwaukee Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia 76ers’ big man Joel Embiid, Boston Celtics’guard Kyrie Irving and Toronto Raptors’ gunner DeMar DeRozan.
The Cleveland Cavaliers star ended up the top vote-getter with 2,638,294. Antetokounmpo came in second among East players, trailing James by over 108,000 votes. Irving finished third with 2,170,833, leading all East guards.
The Eastern Conference @NBAAllStar Starters Pool! #LeBronJames#GiannisAntetokounmpo#JoelEmbiid#KyrieIrving#DeMarDeRozan#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/2UABWqrjEr
— NBA (@NBA) January 18, 2018
Out West, Curry had the most number of votes to earn the right to be captain and form his own team as well. Voted as starters among Western Conference players along with the Golden State Warriors gunner are Curry’s teammate Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets’ main man James Harden, and the New Orleans Pelicans twin tower Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Curry had 2,379,494 votes, while Durant trailed by over 140,000 votes.
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (,1808,860) led Harden (1,486,830) in the fan votes , while Warriors forward Draymond Green (1,135,478) also had more votes than Davis (1,088,230) and Cousins(922,269) among West frontcourt players. But the Rockets gunner got enough media and player votes to take the starter spot, while the Pelicans duo also prevailed over Green for the media and players panel.
The Eastern Conference @NBAAllStar Starters Pool! #LeBronJames#GiannisAntetokounmpo#JoelEmbiid#KyrieIrving#DeMarDeRozan#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/2UABWqrjEr
— NBA (@NBA) January 18, 2018
Other notable players who didn’t make the cut to be voted as All-Star starters despite stellar seasons so far are San Antonio Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis.
With the new All-Star voting format, James and Curry will each form their respective teams from the pool of players fans voted in as starters and coaches selected as reserves. Both captain will make their first four picks from the starters voted in by the fans, media and players. James earned the right to pick ahead of Curry as he had more fan votes. Coaches will choose the reserves and the full rosters be revealed January 25.
The NBA All-Star Game is set on February 18 at Los Angeles.
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