The starters, and captains, for the 2018 NBA All Star Game have officially been announced so without further adieu, here are the 10 players.
Eastern Conference: Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
Western Conference: Steph Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.
The starters were determined by a combination of fans (50% of the vote), current players (25%) and basketball media (25%). Of course, the NBA All Star Game format has changed this year so it won't be East vs. West.
Under the new format, the top vote-getters in each conference, in this case LeBron James and Steph Curry, will be named captains. LeBron and Steph will select their teammates from the pool of players who were voted as starters and reserves, making selections without regard for conference affiliation. Because LeBron had the most votes overall, he'll get first pick in the draft.
In total, 12 players from each conference will be chosen for the All-Star spots, giving LeBron and Steph a pool of 22 players to choose from. The NBA’s head coaches will select the 14 reserves, voting for two guards, three frontcourt players and two players at any position in their respective conferences. The All Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, will be revealed on January 23d at 6pm ET on NBA on TNT.
Unfortunately, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has decided not to televise the All Star Draft so we won't know the teams until they're revealed by TNT on January 25th.