LeBron, top vote-getter Giannis lead NBA All-Star starters

LeBron James extended his record to 21 All-Star selections Thursday night when he was again named a starter for this year’s midseason showcase of the NBA’s biggest names.

James, who turned 40 last month, extended his record after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 19 selections last season. He will be joined in the Western Conference starting lineup by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, who is tied for the fourth-most selections with 15; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, led all players in fan voting for a second straight season and was joined by Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and New York Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in the Eastern Conference starting five.

James, who was set to face off against Tatum and the Celtics later Thursday in Los Angeles, is averaging 23.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9 assists for the Lakers, who remain in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, an unprecedented level of production for a player his age. Durant, meanwhile, joins Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal with 15 All-Star selections, trailing only James, Abdul-Jabbar and the late Kobe Bryant (18).

Jokic, earning his seventh All-Star selection, is having another stellar season for the Nuggets, averaging 30.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.9 assists while shooting 56% overall from the field and 47% from 3-point range. Curry returns to the starting lineup after being a reserve last year as the game will be played at his home arena in San Francisco. He will make his 11th appearance overall, edging past injured Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic in recent weeks to do so, in the only close vote among the West selections.

There certainly wasn’t any drama about Gilgeous-Alexander returning to the starting lineup for the second straight season. Fresh off his first 50-point game Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists for the West-leading Thunder.

In the East, Antetokounmpo, now an All-Star for the ninth time, led the way. It was the sixth appearance for both Tatum and Mitchell, who were widely expected to be starters alongside Antetokounmpo, as was Towns, who will be starting the All-Star Game for the first time in his career in his first season in New York after making it four times as a reserve in his first nine seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The starting lineups are chosen from a hybrid voting system, with 50% of the vote coming from fan ballots, and 25% from both the media and current players.

The lone starting spot that felt truly up for grabs entering Thursday’s unveiling was the second East starter alongside Mitchell in the backcourt. In the mix were Brunson, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball — who finished with the most fan votes among East guards — and Bucks guard Damian Lillard.

In the end, it was Brunson who got the spot.

The seven reserves from each conference will be unveiled next Thursday on TNT, based on voting by each conference’s coaches.

The coaches for this year’s All-Star Game will be Mark Daignault from the Thunder and Kenny Atkinson from the Cavaliers. Because of the change in format this season — which has the 24 All-Stars broken up into three teams, plus the winning team from the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night — assistant coaches from both the Thunder and Cavaliers will coach two of the teams.