It’s Team LeBron vs. Team Durant in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
The NBA announced the captains and pool of starters for the Feb. 20 game on Thursday night, and LeBron James and Kevin Durant will be the selectors for the second straight year.
The initial pool of starters they will select from include Steph Curry, Ja Morant, Nikoka Jokic, and Andrew Wiggins from the Western Conference, and DeMar DeRozan, Trae Young, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo from the East.
The reserves, who will be selected by the coaches in both conferences, will be announced on Feb. 4, and LeBron and KD will select their teams on Feb. 10 for the Feb. 20 game – although Durant is not likely to play in the event due to a sprained left MCL suffered in mid-January.
Whether he plays or not, Durant is officially an All-Star for the 12th time and a starter for the 10th, the second-most appearances of active players behind James, who earned his 18th nod. From the Nets’ official release:
A two-time All-Star Game MVP (2012 and 2019) who holds the second-highest scoring average in All-Star Game history (25.0 points per game), Durant has recorded averages of a league-leading 29.3 points on 52.0 percent shooting from the field, 37.2 percent shooting from 3-point range and 89.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line (seventh in the league), 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 36.5 minutes per game across 36 games this season.
Durant is the first Net to ever be selected to start multiple All-Star games (2022 and 2021). He joins Kyrie Irving (2021), Jason Kidd (2008), Vince Carter (2005), Kenny Anderson (1994) and Derrick Coleman (1994) as players selected to start an All-Star game in Nets history. Durant is also one of four players in Nets NBA history to earn multiple All-Star Game selections (two), joining Jason Kidd (five), Vince Carter (three) and Buck Williams (two), and is the first Net to be selected to consecutive All-Star games since Kidd in 2007 and 2008.
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