The starters for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game have been announced on February 18, while the reserves were announced on February 23.
The fans, the current NBA players and a media panel selected the starters for this game, with the fans accounting for 50 percent of the vote. The rest of 50 percent was share equally (25 each) by the NBA players and the media.
The starters are two guards and three frontcourt players, so the players with the best score for these positions in each conference will start the All-Star Game.
Eastern Conference
In the Eastern Conference, the fans and players ranking were the same for both the frontcourt and the guard rankings.
Frontcourt Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) received the most votes, as he earned his 11th selection so far. James Harden, who just joined the Nets after 9 seasons for the Houston Rockets, comes second in the number of selections (9), but he is only a reserve guard for this game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) is the second frontcourt, as he was the obvious choice. His fifth straight All-Star Game selection comes after he won the MVP award for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) is the third frontcourt, and maybe the best player in the conference this season.
The two guards selected are Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets) and Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), at their 7th, respective 3rd selection.
Related: Lebron James And Giannis Antetokounmpo Lead In NBA All-Star Voting 2019
Western Conference
The fans vote matched the three frontcourts and the two guards chosen for the Western Conference. And the most voted player in this conference and from the entire NBA championship is LeBron James, with almost 6 million fan votes.
The Los Angeles forward earned his 17th consecutive All-Star Game selection. That is the most consecutive selections (tied with Kobe Bryant), and just two short of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 19. But LeBron James has the most consecutive games played, with 16, by far the most.
Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) and Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) are the other two frontcourts, with 5, respective 3 overall selections.
Stephen Curry is the only other player, next to Kevin Durant and LeBron James, to receive more than 5 million fan votes for this game. The Golden State Warriors guard earned his seventh selection, while Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) has his second. Doncic is only 21 years old, and last year he became the youngest European player to feature in an All-Star Game. Curry and Doncic are the two Western Conference guards.
Reserves Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns) and Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers) won their 11th, respective 8th selection, although Davis will be unable to play due to a calf injury. Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers) and Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) are other West reserves.
What else to know?
The most notable omission is of Devin Booker, guard for the Phoenix Suns. He featured in the All-Star team last season, still didn’t make the cut this year. “Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that”, twitted LeBron James.
LeBron is also the main favorite at winning the MVP award for this season. When it comes to NBA and basketball betting, the Lakers forward has +150 odds at Unibet. Joel Embiid comes second (+300), while Nikola Jokic is third (+600).
Also, another bet is the winner of the NBA Championship. Los Angeles Lakers are favorites at retaining their title (+260), followed by Brooklyn Nets (+350) and Los Angeles Clippers (+500).
Back to the All-Star Game, you should know also that the event will be hosted by the Hawks’ home arena in Atlanta, on Sunday, March 7. The game had originally been awarded to Indianapolis. The NBA All-Star draft will take place on March 4, with Kevin Durant and LeBron James as captains.
The coaches will be Doc Rivers, from Philadelphia 76ers (Team Durant), and Quin Snyder, from Utah Jazz (Team LeBron). The game can be watched on TNT and TBS.
