James, Antetokounmpo will captain NBA All-Star teams
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo will captain the NBA All-Star Game teams next month after final voting that saw Philadelphia star Joel Embiid fail to earn a starting spot. James will tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – the man he is on track to overtake as the NBA's all-time leading scorer – for most All-Star Game appearances with 19. The four-time NBA champion, who is averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists this season, has now served as a captain – as the top vote-getter from his conference – in each of the six years that the league has used the format of captains selecting their teams from among all the available players. Antetokounmpo, the Bucks' two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, will be a captain for the third time in his career, having led a team in 2019 and 2020. Joining James among starters selected from the Western Conference are New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. The starters from the East are Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and teammate Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell. Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the voting, with voting among NBA players and a media panel each accounting for 25 percent of the vote. The All-Star reserves, who are selected by NBA coaches, will be announced next week and the captains will select their teams shortly before the game starts. That's a change from recent years, when the draft was conducted virtually in the lead-up to All-Star Weekend. (AFP)