With more than half of the 2022-23 season in the books and the All-Star Game approaching, it's time to name the starters for the league's mid-season exhibition. Those starters were determined by a vote divided amongst fans (50 percent), media (25 percent) and players (25), and on Thursday, those starters were announced on TNT with an assist from the accounting firm Ernst and Young. With two guards and three front-court players coming from each conference, the following 10 players have been selected:
Player | Position | Conference |
*LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers | Forward | West |
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans | Forward | West |
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets | Center | West |
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks | Guard | West |
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors | Guard | West |
*Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks | Forward | East |
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics | Forward | East |
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets | Forward | East |
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets | Guard | East |
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers | Guard | East |
Just because players are selected by conference doesn't mean teams are divided that way anymore. For the sixth consecutive year, the leading vote-getter in each conference will draft their teams, and for the sixth consecutive year, James is captaining one of the two teams. His counterpart will be Giannis Antetokounmpo for the third time as he was named the game's second captain.
With the starters now announced, we can now look ahead to Feb. 2, when the reserves will be revealed. Unlike recent years, the All-Star Game Draft will be held right before the game itself on Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Here are three key takeaways:
Ever since the league moved to the captains' picks format back in 2018, only four players have had the honor: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. James has done so all six years, while Antetokounmpo has done it three, making Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis the most common matchup we've seen.
While determining the starters is based on a somewhat complicated process in which each player is assigned a weighted score using a combination of fan, media and player voting, choosing the captains is much easier. The player in each conference who receives the most fan votes gets the gig.
The last time these two were captains was in 2020, which is the year the league debuted the use of the Elam Ending format, where teams play to a final score in the fourth quarter instead of using a clock. Team LeBron won on a pair of walk-off free throws by Anthony Davis that time around; hopefully, this year's contest is just as exciting.
Heading into Thursday night, one of the biggest questions was which Eastern Conference frontcourt player would get left out of the starting lineup? The four best players in the conference are all forwards or centers, but there are only three starting frontcourt spots.
They went to Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum, leaving Joel Embiid as the odd man out. That's despite Embiid averaging 33.4 points (second in the league), 9.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 blocks per game, and the Sixers sitting in second place in the East at 31-16.
The problem for Embiid is that all of the other guys have incredible numbers and play on great teams as well. Antetokounmpo is putting up 31/12/5.6; Durant's at 29.7/6.7/5.3; Tatum is going for 31/8.6/4.4. The Bucks are third in the East, the Nets are fourth and the Celtics are first.
One argument against Embiid is that he's missed 12 games this season, but even then Antetokounmpo has been out for 11 and Durant has sat for eight and counting. Tatum is the only one who hasn't had any injury trouble this season. What this ultimately comes down to is bad luck for Embiid that he plays in the same era and same conference as three unbelievable talents.
The main story on Thursday is that LeBron James will be an All-Star captain for the sixth year in a row after receiving the most fan votes in the West. But with that honor, he has also clinched his 19th consecutive All-Star appearance, which gives him yet another spot in the record books.
Overall, he has moved past Kobe Bryant on the all-time All-Star Game appearance list and is now tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history. In addition, he is the first player to make 19 consecutive All-Star Games; Abdul-Jabbar's appearances were split into two stints because he didn't make it in 1978.
It's fitting that James has now matched Abdul-Jabbar for All-Star trips given that he's also chasing him down for the all-time scoring record. If everything goes to plan, James will have that mark a few weeks before everyone heads to Salt Lake City.
This will be the 19th All-Star appearance for LeBron James, who only missed out in his rookie season. That ties Kareem-Abdul Jabbar for the most All-Star Games in NBA history, and is also the most consecutive appearances ever. Just another note in the record books for one of the greatest to ever do it.
Joining Giannis as starters from the Eastern Conference are Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell. The clear snub here is Joel Embiid, but there was always going to be an odd man out considering the four best players in the conference are all frontcourt players, and there are only three spots. Irving has been spectacular since his return from suspension, while Mitchell has helped turn the Cavs into a serious contender.
For the third time in his career, and the first time since 2020, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named an All-Star captain. The Greek Freak received the most fan votes of any player in the Eastern Conference, and will now once again have the honor and responsibility of picking his team next month in Salt Lake City
Joining LeBron in the frontcourt as starters from the Western Conference are Nikola Jokic and Zion Williamson, while Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic have made it in the backcourt. Jokic has a chance to become the fourth player to ever win three MVPs in a row, while Doncic is also in the conversation for that award. Curry and Williamson might be as well, but they've dealt with injuries and have missed too much time -- though not too much to make it in as starters.
LeBron James is back again as an All-Star captain after receiving the most fan votes of any player in the Western Conference. He has been a captain in all six years since the league moved to this format in 2018. This is the 19th consecutive All-Star appearance for LeBron.
The process starts with the captains, who are determined by the All-Star voting results. The leader for each conference gets to select his squad and have the team named after him. The leading vote-getter in the All-Star balloting process is awarded the first pick in the All-Star Draft. Then, beginning with the starters, the captains take turns drafting from the pool of 22 players voted into the All-Star Game. Conference affiliation does not matter during the draft process.
Unlike previous years, the 2023 NBA All-Star Draft will take place right before the game begins on Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The two team captains will draft the team rosters from the pool of players selected as starters and reserves in their respective conferences.
The 30 NBA coaches select the 14 reserves, voting for two guards, three frontcourt players and two players at any position in the Eastern and Western conferences. Adam Silver selects the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to injury and would choose a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced in that instance. That selection would then join the team that drafted the player who had to be replaced.
The reserves will be announced on Feb. 2.
Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. In addition, current NBA players and select media account for 25 percent each. The NBA All-Star Game starters, including the two team captains, will be revealed by TNT on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. ET.
The team captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference.
