NBA All-Star Game 2020: When and Where to Catch Captains, Starters Announcement

Team LeBron is nearing its return to the NBA All-Star Game.

For the third consecutive year, LeBron James is likely to serve as one of the two team captains for the All-Star matchup. The player who gets the most fan votes from each conference gets the opportunity to be an All-Star captain and will draft the two teams for this year's contest.

In the most recent voting update released this past Thursday, James led all NBA players with 4,747,887 votes. The Los Angeles Lakers forward was a captain each of the previous two seasons, the first two All-Star Games to incorporate a draft-style format rather than the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference matchup.

Voting for the All-Star Game closed on Monday night. Fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the vote, while current NBA players and a media panel each account for 25 percent.

With the announcement of the NBA All-Star captains and starters set to take place on Thursday, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming events.

NBA All-Star Schedule

Thursday, Jan. 23: Captains and starters announcement, 7 p.m. ET on TNT

Thursday, Jan. 30: Reserves announcement, 7 p.m. ET on TNT

Thursday, Feb. 6: NBA All-Star Draft, 7 p.m. ET on TNT

Friday, Feb. 14: NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN; NBA Rising Stars, 9 p.m. ET on TNT

Saturday, Feb. 15: State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, 8 p.m. ET on TNT

Sunday, Feb. 16: 69th NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. ET on TNT

LeBron vs. Giannis rematch?

Aaron Gash/Associated Press

James isn't the only former captain who is in line to lead an All-Star team this season. In fact, this year's All-Star Game could be a rematch of the 2019 contest.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had the most votes among Eastern Conference players (4,474,107) in the most recent voting update, and no other player was even close to the reigning NBA MVP. The Eastern Conference player with the second-most votes was Raptors forward Pascal Siakam at 2,433,411.

James will need to hold off Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (4,598,323) and Lakers forward Anthony Davis (4,412,619 votes) to become an All-Star captain for the third straight season.

Last year, James led his team to a 178-164 win over Antetokounmpo's squad. In 2018, the Lakers star was also victorious, as his team defeated a squad led by Warriors guard Stephen Curry 148-145.

Could there be a Los Angeles superteam?

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

In the most recent voting update, the four Western Conference forwards with the most votes all represented a Los Angeles team. James, Davis and Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were at the top for the position.

Now, imagine if James is a captain and brings together all the players from Los Angeles teams.

That would be fun to watch, especially because there are several other L.A. players who could be selected as All-Star reserves. Forward Dwight Howard and guard Alex Caruso, both of the Lakers, were also among the leading vote-getters in the most recent update.

Last year, James was the only player from a Los Angeles team to make the All-Star Game. Things are much different this season as the Lakers (34-9) and Clippers (30-13) are two of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Doncic continues to impress in sophomore season

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

After an impressive rookie season in 2018-19, Doncic has only gotten better in his second NBA campaign. And it's a near lock that he'll be heading to the All-Star Game for the first time.

The 20-year-old ranks third in the NBA and points (28.9) and assists (9.0) per game, while also averaging 9.7 rebounds per game. Those numbers are all up from his rookie season, when he averaged 21.2 points, 6.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.

In 110 career games, he already has 20 triple-doubles, including an NBA-high 12 this season.

It's going to be fun to watch Doncic join the league's biggest stars in Chicago for the All-Star Game, and he has the potential to be the star of the night.