LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo announced as captains for the NBA All-Star Game, while fans scratch heads as Damian Lillard is also named a starter
The starters for the NBA All-Star Game were announced Thursday night — and the selections were largely devoid of surprises as LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named to captain the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.
Rounding out the rest of the West roster are Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, there was some minor controversy in the East when Damian Lillard was chosen to start alongside Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton.
Lillard is averaging 25.3 points and 6.8 assists per game, but is shooting just 42.6 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three — which would be the second-worst mark of his career over a full season.
Fans were quick to act criticism of the choice onlinewith many saying the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson or the Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell — who both average more points and shoot more efficiently — should have started instead.
Bucks teammates Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named All-Star starters
The All-Star Game starters are voted on by fans, players and media, with fans accounting for 50 percent of the votes and the other two groups each accounting for 25 percent.
James and Antetokounmpo both finished first in their vote of the relevant conferencemaking them captains.
The East and West teams will also welcome seven reserve players each, with the players to be announced on February 1.
Players like Brunson, Mitchell and Tyrese Maxey are widely expected to be on the East roster, while Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard have good chances to represent the West.