LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat are headed to the NBA All-Star game together, while Derrick Rose gave the Chicago Bulls their first starter since Michael Jordan.
They will be joined in the Eastern Conference starting lineup by Amare Stoudemire, who will become the first New York Knicks player to start in nearly two decades, and Orlando center Dwight Howard, the leading vote-getter in the conference with nearly 2.1 million ballots cast.
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant earned his 13th straight All-Star selection for the Feb. 20 game at his home arena in Los Angeles. He is one appearance shy of the record held by Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone.
Photo: Reuters
Bryant, a three-time MVP of the All-Star game, received the most votes overall with 2.3 million.
The other starters announced on Thursday were guard Chris Paul of New Orleans, forwards Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City and Carmelo Anthony of Denver and Chinese center Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, who is injured and will be replaced on the roster by a player of commissioner David Stern’s choosing.
James and Wade, who both received more than 2 million votes from fans, will become the first set of teammates to start for the East since Wade and O’Neal represented the Heat in the 2007 game.
“We try to represent our team, try to represent our franchise the right way every time we go out on the basketball court and the fact that we’ve had so many votes by these fans, like I said it’s very humbling and we appreciate it,” James said before the Heat faced the New York Knicks on Thursday.
Rose beat out the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo to earn his first All-Star start and the first by a Chicago player since Jordan started in the 1998 game.
“I think it’s recognition for the job he’s done this year,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “All-Star games, those are great. He certainly earned it, but ... I’m more concerned with what he’s done for our team, and he’s done a lot for the team.”
Fans voted for the starters, but the reserves will be chosen by the head coaches in their respective conferences. Their votes must be submitted to the league office by Tuesday and the announcement will come on Thursday night.
Stoudemire has revitalized the Knicks since coming from Phoenix in the summer. He beat out perennial starter Kevin Garnett for the second forward spot and is just the fifth Knick to be selected an All-Star starter since fans began voting in the 1974-1975 season.
In a rarity in fan voting, the East balloting seems entirely right. Stoudemire, James and Wade are all in the league’s top five in scoring, while Rose and Howard are right there with them as the NBA’s MVP candidates.
The West vote was flawed with the selection of Yao, who despite missing nearly the entire season continues to earn a huge vote total from his native China.
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