Raptors' DeMar DeRozan elected to start NBA all-star game
LeBron James, Stephen Curry will be team captains in new draft format
Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan will represent his second home when the NBA All-Star Game is in Los Angeles next month.
The Compton, Calif., native was named a starter for the NBA All-Star Game on Thursday for a second straight year. It will be DeRozan's fourth appearance at an all-star game. He started for the East team in 2017 and was named a reserve for the 2014 and 2016 games.
"Having the opportunity to play an NBA All-Star Game in my hometown is amazing, and being able to represent Toronto — my other home — makes it even better," DeRozan said. "It's a great honour to be selected as a starter again, and I want to thank my teammates and coaches, the fans across Canada, the media, and the entire NBA community. I appreciate your votes."
DeMar DeRozan: 4th All-Star selection, 1 shy of tying Chris Bosh and Vince Carter (both with 5) for most in Raptors history <a href="https://t.co/qGOCRymC9Q">pic.twitter.com/qGOCRymC9Q</a>
—@ESPNStatsInfoLeBron James will captain DeRozan's East team and Stephen Curry will lead the West.
James and Curry received the most votes from fans in their conferences and will draft from a pool of the rest of the NBA's best for next month's game in Los Angeles.
"Captain huh? Really Appreciate all the votes from the fans, media and players!" Curry wrote on Twitter .
James will pick first as the player who received the most fan votes.
"Congrats Captain ," Kevin Love wrote to his Cleveland teammate James on Instagram.
Irving, Durant highlight rest of starters
The 28-year-old DeRozan is averaging a team-high 25.2 points per game for the Raptors this season.
DeRozan scored a single-game franchise-record 52 points earlier this season in an overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The format was changed from the traditional East vs. West matchup for the first time after lacklustre games the last two seasons, when players made little attempt to defend and the West nearly scored 200 points in both of its victories.
Both James and Curry will make their first four picks from the pool of starters, but they don't have to stick to conference affiliation in choosing their rosters.
The remainder of the starters from the Eastern Conference will be Boston's Kyrie Irving, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kevin Durant joins Curry from the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, while New Orleans also has two starters in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Houston guard James Harden rounds out the starters, who were selected by a combination of fan, media and player voting.
The reserves, voted upon by the head coaches in each conference, will be announced Tuesday, and the rosters selected by James and Curry will be unveiled next Thursday.
The league does not plan to televise the draft.