LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named as the captains of the two teams that will take part in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game next month in Salt Lake City.
James ties Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — who he is about to pass as the league’s all-time scoring leader — for most All-Star Game appearances with 19. James has now been a captain each of the six years the NBA has utilized the format of two captains drafting their individual teams. The Los Angeles Lakers star is averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in his age-38 NBA season.
Antetokounmpo will be a captain for the third time in his career, having done so in 2019 and 2020, and will be an All-Star for the seventh consecutive season. The Milwaukee Bucks star is averaging 31 points, 12 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season for the Bucks, who enter Thursday’s action a half-game behind the Philadelphia 76ers for second place in the Eastern Conference.
Joining James among starters selected from the Western Conference are New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
The other East starters alongside Antetokounmpo are Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and his teammate Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
The starters are selected by a weighted voting process that is derived from the fan vote being weighted as 50 percent of the final outcome, with both the player and media portions of the vote each counting for 25 percent.
The seven All-Star reserves from each conference, which are voted on by the coaches in each conference, will be announced next Thursday. This year, for the first time, the teams themselves will be decided by a draft that will take place live shortly before the start of the game next month, as opposed to a taped draft conducted in the weeks leading up to the game being played.
As captains, James and Antetokounmpo will be responsible for drafting their teams.