NBA All-Star Game 2019: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Captains, Starters Reveal
The NBA All-Star landscape is slowly shifting.
This year, there will be perennial All-Stars from years past that won't make the cut, allowing for a new crop of superstars to get a chance to showcase their talents in the league's most popular game.
The new format that had two captains selecting squads regardless of conference affiliation went over well last season, so the rules will continue for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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The leading fan vote-getter from the Eastern and Western Conferences will pick from a pool of players nominated by fans, coaches and members of the media.
That open forum of possibilities will undoubtedly add drama to the teams.
Will Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook end up on the same side? Will LeBron James and Kyrie Irving team up again?
The list of 10 starters (five players from each conference) will be announced on Thursday during the TNT NBA Tip-Off pregame show.
Reserves will be revealed next week.
Date: Thursday, January 24
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Live Stream: TNT Drama
Giannis, LeBron Lead Voting
According to the third returns of fan voting, Milwaukee Bucks point forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (3,626,909 votes) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (3,770,807 votes) are set to be named the captains for the East and West, respectively.
Irving is on Antetokounmpo's heels with 3,187,015 votes, while Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic is gaining on James with 3,301,825.
If those leads hold, they'll be able to choose players like Kawhi Leonard (third in East voting), Stephen Curry (third in West voting) and Embiid (fourth in East voting).
The fact that Doncic is ahead of players like Paul George, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Westbrook in the voting is raising eyebrows, but the first-year floor general is having an outstanding rookie year, albeit on a losing team.
Outliers like Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose are racking up a lot of votes, but likely won't actually be selected because they aren't having legitimate All-Star seasons.
There's some speculation that Wade might get the "lifetime achievement" nod, but that might not hold since the fan vote only accounts for 50 percent of the tally for the starters.
Wade and Rose notwithstanding, the final list of 10 names should prove to be an interesting mix of high-grade talent.
Coming Out Party for Antetokounmpo?
Antetokounmpo was a starter last season, but this year will be different because he'll be a captain representing the Eastern Conference, and that will make for an interesting selection process alongside James.
Who will he pick? What kind of players will he be focusing in on?
While Antetokounmpo is a burgeoning superstar and a top MVP candidate, he's still virtually an unknown, especially outside of Milwaukee.
Considering that he's only 143,898 votes behind the leading vote-getter James, fans are already on board the Greek Freak train, and now they'll get a first-class seat.
The Bucks superstar is averaging 26.5 points, 12.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per game and has his team riding high with the best record in the league at 34-12.
He doesn't work out with any of the league's top players during the summer, so he doesn't have any reason to favor one player over another. He'll likely choose players based solely on skill, nothing more.
Will he choose dunkers? Shooters? Playmakers? Defensive stalwarts?
Who he picks to join his squad will tell everyone a lot about how he thinks and what kind of show he wants to put on for the fans.
Regardless of who he selects, all eyes will be on the player who's able to dominate without having a reliable jump shot, and he'll more than likely revel in the chance to be a human highlight.
Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport
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