NEW YORK – Pau Gasol of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and rookie Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers were named All-Stars, as the NBA today announced the list of 14 players that have been selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2011 All-Star Game. Gasol and Griffin join the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who was voted to start, as representatives of the host city’s NBA franchises during the 60^th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011.

The Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett earned his record-tying 14^th straight All-Star selection, joining Jerry West, Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal as the players with the most consecutive nods in NBA All-Star history.

Joining Gasol and Griffin as reserves on the West squad are the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook – who joins Griffin as the only first-timers in this year’s game – the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, and the Utah Jazz’s Deron Williams. Griffin also was selected to play in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, which will be held at Staples Center on Friday, Feb. 18. He becomes the first rookie to play in an NBA All-Star Game since the Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming was selected to start in 2003. Duncan and Bryant, this year’s leading vote-getter in this year’s NBA All-Star Balloting program presented by T-Mobile, have been selected to 13 straight All-Star games.

In the Eastern Conference, Garnett is joined by three Celtics teammates — Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. Rounding out the East squad are the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and Joe Johnson, and the Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh.

Voted to start for the West were the Denver Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony, the Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming, the Lakers’ Bryant, and the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul. The East starters are comprised of the Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose, the Heat’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the New York Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire, and the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard.

NBA Commissioner David Stern will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game. If the injured player is a starter, the head coach of that team will determine who replaces him in the starting lineup.

The 14 players selected — seven each from the Eastern and Western Conferences — were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences — two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.

The Celtics’ Doc Rivers earned the right to coach the East squad following Boston’s 95-90 win over the Sacramento Kings Feb. 2. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich earned the right to coach the West following the Spurs’ 113-102 win over the Golden State Warriors Jan. 24. The East and West All-Star coaches were determined by the best record in each conference through games played Feb. 6.

The 2011 NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S. and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

The All-Star Game will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The week leading up to the All-Star Game will feature a full slate of community-enhancing activities, fan festivals and events, including the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service, the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, and NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm. NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas, the hugely successful interactive basketball celebration, will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center. Los Angeles and Staples Center will host NBA All-Star 2011, marking the fifth time The City of Angels and the second time Staples Center will be the site of the annual celebration.  Staples Center last played host to NBA All-Star in 2004, and L.A. also hosted the All-Star Game in 1963, 1972, and 1983.

The East and West rosters for the 60^th NBA All-Star Game are attached.

2011 EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

No.     Player (Team)                              Pos.    Ht.         Wt.        Birthdate         College/HS/Country        All-Star Selections

20       Ray Allen (Boston)                      G        6-5         205        07/20/75          Connecticut                                       10

1         Chris Bosh (Miami)                     F/C     6-10       230        03/24/84          Georgia Tech                                    6

5         Kevin Garnett (Boston)               F         6-11       220        05/19/76          Farragut Academy (HS)           14

15       Al Horford (Atlanta)                    F/C     6-10       245        06/03/86          Florida                               2

12       *Dwight Howard (Orlando)        C         6-11       265        12/08/85          SW Atlanta Christian Academy     5

6         *LeBron James (Miami)              F         6-8         250        12/30/84          St. Vincent/St. Mary HS                  7

2         Joe Johnson (Atlanta)                  G        6-7         235        06/29/81          Arkansas                                            5

34       Paul Pierce (Boston)                    F         6-7         235        10/13/77          Kansas                                               9

9         Rajon Rondo (Boston)                 G        6-1         171        02/22/86          Kentucky                          2

1         *Derrick Rose (Chicago)             G        6-3         190        10/04/88          Memphis                                            2

1         *Amar’e Stoudemire (New York)F/C   6-10       245        11/16/82          Cypress Creek HS           6

3         *Dwyane Wade (Miami)             G        6-4         210        01/17/82          Marquette                                          7

Head Coach: Doc Rivers (Boston)

Assistant Coaches: Lawrence Frank, Armond Hill, Kevin Eastman, Mike Longabardi, Roy Rogers, Tyronn Lue

Athletic Trainer: Scott McCullough (Toronto)

 

2011 WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

No.     Player (Team)                              Pos.    Ht.         Wt.        Birthdate         College/HS/Country        All-Star Selections

15       *Carmelo Anthony (Denver)      F         6-8         230        05/29/84          Syracuse                            4

24       *Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)       G        6-6         205        08/23/78          Lower Merion HS            13

21       Tim Duncan (San Antonio)         F         6-11       260        04/25/76          Wake Forest                     13

35       *Kevin Durant (OKC)                  F         6-9         230        09/29/88          Texas                                                  2

16       Pau Gasol (L.A. Lakers)              F         7-0         227        07/06/80          Barcelona, Spain                      4

20       Manu Ginobili (San Antonio)    G        6-6         205        07/28/77          Bahia Blanca, Argentina                   2

41       Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)                F         7-0         245        06/19/78          Wurzburg, Germany           10

3         *Chris Paul (New Orleans)         G        6-0         175        05/06/85          Wake Forest                     4

32       #Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers)   F         6-10       251        03/16/89          Oklahoma                         1

7         #Russell Westbrook (OKC)        G        6-6         211        11/12/88          Washington                      1

8         Deron Williams (Utah)                G        6-3         209        0726/84            Illinois           2

11       *^Yao Ming (Houston)                C         7-6         310        09/12/80          Shanghai, China               8

 

Head Coach: Gregg Popovich (San Antonio)

Assistant Coaches: Mike Budenholzer, Don Newman, Brett Brown, Chip Engelland, Chad Forcier, Jacque Vaughn

Athletic Trainer: Jasen Powell (L.A. Clippers)

*denotes starter

#denotes first-time selection

^denotes injured player