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NBA All-Star Rosters 2018: List of Captains, Starters & Predictions for Reserves
January 22, 2018
Look at LeBron James and Stephen Curry: They are the captains now.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors stars won the ballot for the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively, and will be responsible for drafting the players to join their teams for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game scheduled to be played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 18.
Voted for by the fans, players and media, the starters were revealed on Thursday. James was the top vote-getter overall and for the East, so he will be picking first and then alternating selections with Curry.
Joining James as starters for the East are Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,530,211), Joel Embiid (1,285,587), Kyrie Irving (2,170,833) and DeMar DeRozan (998,999).
In the West, Kevin Durant (2,238,406), James Harden (1,486,830), Anthony Davis (1,088,230) and DeMarcus Cousins (922,269) joined Curry as starters.
NBA players and 99 members of the basketball media joined fans in voting to select the starters. Fan votes accounted for 50 percent, while player and media votes represented 25 percent each.
The reason this "draft" will be so interesting is the fact each captain can select from the pool of names of the other eight starters and the 14 reserves (seven from each conference) to be chosen by NBA head coaches, regardless of conference affiliation.
One of the biggest questions is whether James will select Irving for his team despite the drama that led to him demanding a trade this past summer or whether he'll choose rival Durant, who beat him out for the 2017 championship.
"I'm trying to win," James said, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "This is the reason they did this format to make it very competitive. The All-Star game hasn't been what it should be the last few years. I'm going to take it upon myself and obviously the rest of the guys to go out there and play the game the right way and compete. Our fans deserve it."
Since Team James will be picking first, Team Curry has first choice of jersey color. As for his drafting strategy, he plans on getting a little help from the rest of the Curry clan.
The reserves will be announced on Tuesday during TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.
The top names for the reserves from the East have been somewhat of a moving target, but the ones who have staying power are Kristaps Porzingis, Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal and John Wall, Al Horford of the Boston Celtics, Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets.
The reserves from the West include Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Golden State's Green and Klay Thompson, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Analysts have kicked around the idea of Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers getting the nod this year, but Portland Trailblazers' point guard Damian Lillard has really come on of late and has a great shot at making the cut.
"I don't know who LeBron will take with the first pick," Curry said, per Mark Medina of the Mercury News. "So depending on how that goes, I might have to go pick all guards and pick the shortest team possible. Who knows how it will play out."
Curry was kidding, of course, but the possibilities are endless. Friends can play with friends, friends can link up with foes and opposing stars can join up for the first time in a game where conference doesn't matter.
Since James wants to win, he'll undoubtedly choose Durant with the first pick, while Curry will go for Antetokounmpo. From there, the Cavs star will likely round out his squad with Harden, Cousins, Beal, DeRozan, Porzingis, Love, Butler, Walker, Westbrook and Aldridge.
Curry most likely will choose Green, Thompson, Towns, Oladipo, Wall, Horford, Drummond, Davis, Irving and Lillard.
Unfortunately, the actual draft won't be televised. The final team rosters will be broadcast on Thursday during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.
As for selecting head coaches, the process remains unchanged. Like previous games, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference coach who clinches the best record in their conference two weeks before the game will earn a spot on the bench.
Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens and Golden State's Steve Kerr are both ineligible, though, because they coached the game last season. Although the players will disregard conference affiliation, the coaches will align with the respective captain from each conference.
The 67th annual midseason classic, which will be played at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 18 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), will be televised on TNT for the 16th consecutive year.