NEW YORK – The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry lead the list of 10 players selected by fans, NBA players and media to start in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.  James and Curry will serve as team captains after finishing as the All-Star starter from each conference who received the most fan votes in his conference.

The 67^th NBA All-Star Game, featuring Team LeBron vs. Team Stephen, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio.  The midseason classic from Staples Center will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

Under the new All-Star Game format that replaces the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, James and Curry will choose the team rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves.  The All-Star teams will still feature 12 players from each conference, but the captains will select the team rosters without regard for conference affiliation.  Each captain’s first four selections must come from the pool of eight remaining starters.  As the top overall finisher in fan voting, James will make the first pick.

In addition to James (frontcourt), who has been named an All-Star for the 14^th consecutive year, the starters from the East player pool are the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (frontcourt), the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan (guard), the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (frontcourt) and the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving (guard).

Joining Curry (guard) as starters from the West player pool are the New Orleans Pelicans’ DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis (both frontcourt), the Warriors’ Kevin Durant (frontcourt) and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (guard).

The starters – two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference – were announced tonight during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader.  The network will unveil the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. ET during TNT NBA Tip-Off.  The team rosters will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. ET in a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off.

Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each.  James (2,638,294 fan votes) edged Antetokounmpo (2,530,211) as the top overall vote-getter among fans, while Curry (2,379,494) led the West.  Durant (2,238,406) and Irving (2,170,833) also had the highest fan totals in their respective position groups.

After all votes were tallied, players were ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes.  Each player’s score was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes.  The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference were named NBA All-Star Game starters.  Fan voting served as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.  This year, the tiebreaker was not needed to determine a starting spot.

ALL-STAR GAME STARTER POOL

Eastern Conference

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (2^nd All-Star selection): After starting last year’s game in his All-Star debut, Antetokounmpo will become the first Milwaukee player to start consecutive NBA All-Star Games since Marques Johnson in the 1979 and 1980 midseason classics.
• DeMar DeRozan, Raptors (4^th All-Star selection): Toronto’s all-time leading scorer will start the All-Star Game for the second year in a row after earning his third straight selection.
• Joel Embiid, 76ers (1^st All-Star selection): A first-time All-Star in his second season, Embiid will be the first 76ers player to start an All-Star Game since Allen Iverson in 2006.
• Kyrie Irving, Celtics (5^th All-Star selection): An All-Star for the fifth time in seven seasons, Irving was the MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game as a 21-year-old in his third season.
• LeBron James, Cavaliers (14^th All-Star selection): The four-time Kia NBA MVP will make his 14^th All-Star Game start, one behind Kobe Bryant (15) for the most in NBA history. James has tied Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Jerry West with his 14^th All-Star selection, trailing only five players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19 All-Star selections), Bryant (18), Tim Duncan (15), Kevin Garnett (15) and Shaquille O’Neal (15).

Western Conference

• DeMarcus Cousins, Pelicans (4^th All-Star selection): This marks the fourth straight All-Star berth for Cousins, who made it with the Sacramento Kings in each of the previous three seasons.
• Stephen Curry, Warriors (5^th All-Star selection): The two-time Kia NBA MVP will be the first player in Warriors history to start five consecutive All-Star Games.
• Anthony Davis, Pelicans (5^th All-Star selection): Davis, who scored a record 52 points in last year’s All-Star Game, has passed Chris Paul for the most All-Star selections in Pelicans history. Davis joins Cousins to give New Orleans two All-Star starters for the first time.
• Kevin Durant, Warriors (9^th All-Star selection): The 2012 All-Star Game MVP has been named an All-Star for the ninth season in a row.
• James Harden, Rockets (6^th All-Star selection): His six All-Star nods have all come in his six seasons with Houston, putting him third behind Hakeem Olajuwon (12 All-Star selections) and Yao Ming (eight) for the most in Rockets history.

Below are the overall scores – based on results from all three voting groups – for the top finishers at each position.  Each player’s score is weighted based on 50 percent for fan vote, 25 percent for player vote and 25 percent for media vote.  The formula to determine a player’s score is (Fan Rank * 2 + Player Rank + Media Rank)/4.  For complete voting results and a list of media voters, please visit pr.nba.com.

About NBA All-Star 2018
NBA All-Star 2018 in Los Angeles will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game.  The 67^th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Staples Center, will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.  TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 16^th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 33^rd year of NBA All-Star coverage.  Staples Center will also host Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 16 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 17.  The NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles, Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Practice and NBA G League International Challenge presented by Kumho Tire will take place at Verizon Up Arena at Los Angeles Convention Center.