LeBron James is extending his All-Star records.
The NBA revealed the starters — some of them, anyway — for the revamped All-Star Game on Thursday night, and there wasn’t much in the way of surprises. James is now officially an All-Star for the 21st year.
The other starters:
• New York’s Jalen Brunson and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell as the Eastern Conference guards.
• Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns as the East frontcourt players.
• Golden State’s Stephen Curry and NBA leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Western Conference guards.
• Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and Denver’s Nikola Jokic as the West frontcourt players alongside James.
The starters were picked through a system of weighted balloting: 50% was fan voting..
There are 14 more All-Stars yet to be announced, and they’ll be chosen in a vote of the league’s head coaches. That list will be revealed on Jan. 30, and the All-Star Game — now games, really — happens in Sa
There will be at least 15 different players who “start” at the All-Star Game this season. It’s the first year of a new All-Star format, with three games. The 24 All-Stars will be drafted into three teams of eight players apiece by TNT personalities and former NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.
Those three teams will be entered into a four-team tournament, with the remaining squad made up of NBA rookies and second-year players from the Rising Stars event on All-Star Friday. There are two semifinal games, with the winners meeting in a championship game.