The captains of the Western Conference teams, the forward LeBron James, and the East, the Greek wing-pvot Giannis Antetokounmpo, did not generate any surprise during the selection process of their respective quintets for the 69th edition of the Party of the Stars by keeping in each of them the elected by popular vote.
James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who won the right to select first, decided on his teammate, ala-pvot Anthony Davis, then as number three I preferred the forward Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers), secure with the five to Slovenian base Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) and seventh use it with the escort James harden (Houston Rockets).
While Antetokounmpo, the current Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the league, with the second team preferred another tall man, the pvot Cameroons Joel Embiid, of the Sixers. Followed by Ala-Pvot Cameroons, Pascal Siakam, of the Raptors, while the bases Kemba walker (Boston Celtics) and Bring young, of the Hawks, completed the fifth holder of Antetokounmpo, who chose first from the list of reservations.
That allowed him to choose his teammate the forward Khris Middleton, then left with the pvot Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), and in the third choice of reserves for his team logr al pvot francs Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), followed by the escort Jimmy Butler (Miami), the base Kyle Lowry (Toronto), the wing-pvot Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans) and the escort Donovan Mitchell (Utah).
“You can't go wrong.”
In this way, only three western reserve players joined the Antetokoumpo team. While James did the same with his team's reserves by keeping four of the seven that were chosen by the Western Conference coaches.
The Lakers star chose Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers as his first reserve, then left with the first Eastern Conference player to arrive at his team, Australian baseman Ben Simmons of the Sixers.
Another foreign player, the Serbian pvot Nikola Jokic, of the Nuggets, was the third reserve selected by James, who returned to look for a player from the East to stay with the forward Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), while also preferring the Western bases, Chris Paul (Oklahoma City) and Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets), to close with the Lithuanian wing-pvot Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers).
Unlike last year, when James and Antetokounmpo made an exchange, this time both players said they were happy with their lists, and did not mention the idea of making any changes. “At the end of the day, you can't go wrong,” Antetokounmpo commented. “They are all exceptional players, all great, and I hope we can have fun during the weekend.”
I remember Kobe
Before the draw began, James and Antetokounmpo announced the Chicago-based charities that their respective teams would support in the All-Star Game, with James choosing Chicago Scholars and Antetokounmpo after School Matters.
As a tribute to honor the memory of former Los Angeles Lakers superstar escort Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter accident with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people who were aboard the wrecked ship, the Antetokounmpo Team will use the '24', and Team LeBron the '2'.
The NBA also announced major changes in this year's All-Star format, making each period a beneficial mini-match before a fourth quarter not timed with a definite score to decide which team wins. The scores will be reset back to 0-0 at the beginning of the second and third period, then reset to begin the fourth period.
The team that wins the All-Star Party will be the first to reach the established score, determined by all the points that the team scored in the first three quarters combined, plus 24, in a tribute to the shirt Bryant used for the last decade of his career in the NBA.
According to the criteria of
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