All the votes have been tallied, and we now know which 10 basketball players will start during the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. The starting lineup was first announced by ESPN, and here are the players who will take the court first for both conferences.
EAST:
Guards: Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan
Frontcourt: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler
WEST:
Guards: Stephen Curry, James Harden
Frontcourt: Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis
It’s really hard to argue with any of the names on this list. All 10 players who earned this distinction absolutely deserve it, and all of them were at least in the conversation for starting the game based on the most recent round of fan voting, which was released on Jan. 12. Of course, it’s still big that Russell Westbrook did not make it. Oklahoma City’s guard was in third in the last round of fan voting, but it’s still huge that someone who is averaging a triple-double won’t start the game.
As for the reserves, those will be announced on Jan. 26 on TNT. These players are voted on by the NBA’s head coaches, so just because a non-starter finished with a ton of fan votes doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to make it. So if you had high hopes on seeing Zaza Pachulia make it to the All-Star Game, well, you should probably start lobbying an NBA head coach right now.
Back to the starters, this is going to be so much fun. We’re excited to watch the dynamic between the Cavaliers players who made it and the Warriors players who made it, along with Giannis playing in an All-Star Game, which should be awesome.
Per usual, this should be a super entertaining game. It’ll take place on Feb. 19 in New Orleans, so make sure you tune in.
