The Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and the Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant will serve as captains for the 2022 NBA All-Star game. The league announced the news on Thursday night while also unveiling the remainder of the starters for each conference. Both James and Durant had the same honor in 2021.
Besides James, the list of Western Conference starters includes the Golden State Warriors’ duo Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. This is the first All-Star selection for Wiggins and Morant while James equaled Kobe Bryant with his 18th All-Star nod. The current record-holder is Lakers legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar with 19.
In the East, Durant will be joined by DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks). Durant, Embiid, and Antetokounmpo were starters in 2021, while Young returned to the All-Star game after a one-year break. On the other hand, DeRozan made the All-Star team for the first time since 2018.
14 more players will participate in the All-Star game after NBA coaches make their picks for reserves. James and Durant will then select their respective teams from the pool of starters and reserves via a televised draft.
The 2022 NBA All-Star game is scheduled for 20th February in Cleveland.
