The NBA announced the 2021 All-Star Game will take place on March 7 in Atlanta. Over the past month or so, the League has been tallying votes from fans around the world for both the Eastern and Western Conferences. The NBA released the starting lineups for both the East and West on Thursday night. Here’s how things shake out:
Western Conference Starters
G — Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
G — Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
F — Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
F — LeBron James (Captain), Los Angeles Lakers
C — Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Doncic and Portland Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard were tied and the fan voting broke said tie, giving Doncic the starting nod, per Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. Dame is the clear snub as far as starters are concerned, there’s really no question Lillard will be on the West All-Stars.
Eastern Conference Starters
G — Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
G — Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
F — Kevin Durant (Captain), Brooklyn Nets
F — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
C — Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
There aren’t really any surprises from the East All-Star starters other than maybe Irving starting over teammate James Harden. The Beard will likely come off the bench in the ASG, which he’s definitely not accustomed to after his time out West for the Houston Rockets. You could maybe make the case Atlanta Hawks PG Trae Young should be starting over Irving. The fans likely won out in favor of Kyrie.
Here’s the final voting tally courtesy of Marc Stein of the New York Times:
Final results of All-Star fan balloting ... with three players cracking 5 million votes: LeBron Jams, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry: pic.twitter.com/pUtrPq2WBl
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 19, 2021