The 2019 NBA All-Star rosters officially have their starters. While we won’t know the full 24-man field for this February’s game in Charlotte until the coaches vote is tallied on Jan. 31 and the teams are drafted on Feb. 7, we do know what 10 players will open the game first.
The All-Star starters are determined by a combination of the fan vote, which counts 50 percent, and the players and media voting, which count for 25 percent each. Unsurprisingly, the two All-Star captains this year are the same that led the fan voting from the beginning, as LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the top vote-getters in their respective conferences.
From there, you have a number of familiar faces as Paul George, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry get All-Star nods once again in the West, while Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and Joel Embiid get in for the East. The biggest surprise, if it can be called that, is Kemba Walker starting at home in Charlotte, although it’s well deserved as he’s been fantastic this season.
East Starters:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kyrie Irving
Kawhi Leonard
Joel Embiid
Kemba Walker
West Starters:
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Paul George
James Harden
Stephen Curry
It’s the second straight season that LeBron James will serve as a captain, but first in the West, where Curry served as captain a year ago. With LeBron out of the East, the stage was set for MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo to take the mantle. George made the starting lineup thanks to a tiebreaker with Anthony Davis because he had more fan votes than the Pelicans’ star.
The fan voting in the West had LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Derrick Rose, but neither Rose nor Doncic were starters for the players or media.
West All Star Vote – Fan, Media, Player pic.twitter.com/3MDFjOwQeZ
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 25, 2019
The fan voting in the East had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, and Dwyane Wade, but Wade was passed by Walker in the media and player voting.
East All Star Vote – Fan, Media, Player pic.twitter.com/hhmPagedC2
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 25, 2019
The starters, of course, aren’t going to be playing on East and West teams, but these 10 will start the game in whatever combination they’re drafted in on Feb. 7.
