Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James head All-Star starters; Joel Embiid falls short

LeBron James tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday with his 19th NBA All-Star selection. James, who currently shares the record with Abdul-Jabbar for most All-Star Games played with 18, was chosen as a starter, according to a league press release.

All of the starters were revealed on Thursday night.

Nikola Jokic, Zion Williamson, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic were the other starters chosen out of the Western Conference. James will serve as a team captain for the sixth straight year since he received the most votes.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, named a team captain for the third time, heads the list of starters out of the Eastern Conference. Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell are the other starters but the league’s second-leading scorer, Joel Embiid (33.4 PPG), didn’t garner enough votes.

The starters are selected by a weighted voting process with the fan vote accounting for half of the final outcome. The player and media portions of the vote each counted for 25 percent. Three frontcourt players and two guards were selected from each conference.

The game will be played on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. James and Antetokounmpo will choose their teams shortly before the game begins. James will set the league record for most All-Star appearances if he plays because Abdul-Jabbar did not play in the 1973 game after being chosen.

The reserves, which are chosen by the league’s coaches, will be announced on Feb. 2.