The NBA has revealed its 2021 All-Star Game starters. Here are those names:
Eastern Conference
- G Kyrie Irving, Nets
- G Bradley Beal, Wizards
- F/C Kevin Durant, Nets
- F/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
- F/C Joel Embiid, Sixers
After missing all of the 2019/20 season while he recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Durant is making his triumphant return to the All-Star Game. In his first appearance as a Brooklyn player, the 11-time All-Star will captain a team, having led the Eastern Conference in fan votes.
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This is the seventh All-Star appearance for Durant’s teammate Irving. Antetokounmpo, the reigning two-time MVP, has just made his fifth All-Star game. A frontrunner for the 2021 MVP award, Embiid is appearing in his fourth such contest. Beal will be making his first All-Star start after playing as a reserve in the 2018 and 2019 All-Star contests. The Wizards are the No. 13 seed in the East.
Western Conference
- G Stephen Curry, Warriors
- G Luka Doncic, Mavericks
- F/C LeBron James, Lakers
- F/C Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
- F/C Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
James, who was the top vote-getter in the Western Conference and the entire NBA with 5,922,554 fan votes, will again be a team captain. He will be suiting up for his 17th All-Star appearance, the third-most ever behind only fellow Laker legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19 appearances) and Kobe Bryant (18). James was previously tied for making the third-most cumulative All-Star contests alongside Hall of Fame Nets and Sixers wing Julius Erving, who was selected into five ABA All-Star games and 11 NBA All-Star games.
Jokic, an early top MVP contender along with James and Embiid, will earn his first All-Star start in his third appearance in the game. Curry will partake in his seventh All-Star contest, while Leonard has just been voted into his fifth All-Star game.
[RELATED: Community Shootaround: Western All-Stars]
Doncic barely edged out Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to be the second All-Star guard next to Curry among the starters, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Despite extended absences from starters CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Zach Collins, the Blazers boast an 18-10 record, good for the No. 4 seed in the crowded West, largely thanks to Lillard. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are 13-15, the No. 10 seed in the West.
As was the case during the last two years, the top vote-getters of each conference will captain a team, and will be able to draft players from either conference. The “Elam Ending,” which made the conclusion of last year’s game much more entertaining than it had been in recent years, is set to return again this year.
Earlier today, the league officially announced that the 2021 All-Star Game is set to take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, as a one-night event on March 7. The evening will also include its three All-Star weekend mainstay events: the Skills Competition, the Three-Point Contest and the Dunk Contest.
A full list of fan voting totals is viewable at this Twitter link, courtesy of Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The complete voting breakdown by position and conference, including media and player votes, can be found at the bottom of this press release.
The league will announce the 14 players who will comprise the All-Star reserves on Tuesday, February 22, at 7 p.m. ET, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).
Pretty predictable. Will there be any no shows in this group of 10?
I think they all show up. Reserves too, unless injury & Corona wreak havoc just prior.
Ben Simmons is not at top-20 votes in the East?
Or top 40 in the nba
Errors?
Simmons says he is the best defensive player in the nba and his team is winning
Ernie: Why Atlanta?
Silver: Turner Sports.
Therefore: Why the All Star Game?
Turner Sports.
James Harden about to hit all the strip clubs in Atlanta and infect all the All Stars…
It’s a bad joke how Klay Thompson was 9th in the voting for guards in the West.
At least Klay is all star calibre, Zaur Pachulia getting all those votes years ago was the real joke
3 years of injured Yao Ming & Lin-sanity was pretty terrible fan voting too.
Dont forget with tacko fall last season.
You mean Klay was All-Star caliber, but he hasn’t played a single game in almost two years. Of course he will be playing at an All-Star level next year if he avoids having a 3rd consecutive season-ending injury, right? The Warriors are going to be a huge mess soon.
Waladipo yes.he meant like that.klay is superstar.he deserve for allstar if he didnt get that injuried.i like him more than harden.not saying he is better,but i like his playing style.the best robin in nba to me
Harden getting a tough snub
Like the one he gave to Houston
Kyrie is a freaking joke… Jaylen Brown, Tatum, Trae Young or James Harden should have made it over him as a starter. That guy has no heart for the NBA. He is a very charitable person but his heart isn’t in the NBA and it shows sometimes, as compared to the other guards that could have been named starters… Yes I realize it is a vote to have him there, but he isn’t worthy of the title of an all star starter
Beal over Harden is just as outrageous as it gets, right?
I mean Beal has improved a lot his performance, but Harden is playing at his usual MVP level, not drop a bit from the last few years, playing in a star studded team at that, & if you ask me the recent run of BRK has got a lot more to do with Harden than Kyrie or KD, as he seems to always play…
Anyway just very unfair to put anyone above Harden in the EC, actually in the WC I still would have Harden start next to Luka, as so far Harden is the second best guard in the league, right?
It’s not fair
Waaaaaah waaaaah waaaaah! Harden can watch the game at home, where he spent the pre-season demanding a trade.