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The NBA revealed the first 10 players chosen for this year’s All-Star Game on Thursday evening as announced on TNT’s pregame show prior to a doubleheader.
Five starters apiece from the Eastern and Western Conferences have been chosen after a combination of a fan vote (50 percent), player vote (25 percent) and a media panel (25 percent). Two guards and three frontcourt players were chosen for the East and West. The full results can be found on NBA.com.
The Eastern Conference starters consist of New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
The Western Conference starters include Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokić, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant.
NBA Communications @NBAPR
Three voting groups determined the starters for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game:<br><br>▪️ Fans (50%)<br>▪️ NBA players (25%)<br>▪️ Media panel (25%)<br><br>Complete voting results are available here: <a href=”https://t.co/mrjb1ziHai”>https://t.co/mrjb1ziHai</a><br><br>Below are the overall scores for the top finishers at each position. <a href=”https://t.co/KXPIlK5XYc”>pic.twitter.com/KXPIlK5XYc</a>
This year’s All-Star Game showcases a brand-new format featuring a four-team tournament with eight players apiece. There will be no traditional “captains” this year, per se, but there will be general managers in charge of picking their teams in Inside the NBA analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. Candace Parker will be an “honorary GM” for the fourth team.
Three teams (Barkley, Shaq and Smith’s squads) will feature eight NBA All-Stars apiece with the 10 starters and 14 reserves for 24 players total.
The fourth team will be the winning squad from the Rising Stars tournament, a four-team competition featuring the league’s first- and second-year NBA players as well as G League stars. Parker is the GM for that crew.
The winners for the semifinals and finals will be the first teams to hit or surpass the 40-point mark.
Ten players have been announced, but 14 reserves are left. They’ll be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 30, also on TNT.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith will draft the 24 All-Stars (eight apiece) prior to another doubleheader.
A trio of names stand out above the rest in this year’s crowd, and one can guess that they may be the leaders/de-facto “captains” for their All-Star teams.
If an MVP vote was held today, Gilgeous-Alexander would likely be the first half MVP. He’s averaged 32.0 points on 53.0 percent shooting, 6.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game for the 36-7 Thunder, who are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA’s best record. SGA also just dropped 54 points against the Utah Jazz.
Understandably, no Western Conference frontcourt player received more votes than Jokić, a three-time NBA MVP whose a back-to-back winner of the award. He’s posting a career-high 30.1 points per game to go along with 13.2 rebounds and 9.9 assists for the 27-16 Nuggets, currently fourth in the West.
Then then’s Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP who’s arguably enjoying the best season of his career. Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s leading All-Star vote-getter, is averaging 31.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. He’s leading a Bucks team that was once 2-8 before rebounding to its current 24-17 mark.
This year’s All-Star Weekend will take place in San Francisco’s Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors. It’ll begin on Friday, Feb. 14 and run through Sunday, Feb. 16.
