Raptors' Leonard voted starter for NBA all-star game
LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be captains for Feb. 17 event
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard has been voted an Eastern Conference starter for the NBA all-star game in February.
Leonard, who was also a starter in 2016 and 2017 when he played with the San Antonio Spurs, finished second in voting behind Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was named a captain along with LeBron James of the L.A. Lakers.
Leonard, acquired in an off-season trade along with Danny Green in exchange for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poetl, currently ranks fifth in NBA scoring averaging a career-best 27.6 points and 7.9 rebounds through 36 games this season.
James and Antetokounmpo were the leading vote-getters from each conference, making them the players who will choose who plays on which team for the Feb. 17 matchup at Charlotte.
They will draft their teams on Feb. 7. As the leading overall vote-getter, James will have the first pick — just as he did last year, when the captain's-choice format was used for the all-star rosters for the first time.
James extended his NBA record by being chosen as a starter for the 15th straight time. Antetokounmpo is now a three-time all-star.
The starting guards from the East are Boston's Kyrie Irving and Charlotte's Kemba Walker — who'll get to start on his home floor. The East front-court picks were Antetokounmpo, Toronto's Kawhi Leonard and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. From the West, Stephen Curry and reigning NBA MVP James Harden were the picks at guard, with James, Golden State's Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City's Paul George getting the frontcourt spots.
George won a tiebreaker over New Orleans' Anthony Davis for the final West front-court starting spot.
Reserves will be announced Jan. 31. From there, James and Antetokounmpo will choose the rest of their 12-man rosters, with conference affiliations irrelevant.
All-star starters are chosen by a combination of voting from fans, media and NBA players. Among the notable snubs based on fan voting: Dallas rookie Luka Doncic, who was second in the West frontcourt voting; Minnesota's Derrick Rose, who out-polled Harden for the No. 2 spot in the West guard voting; and Miami guard Dwyane Wade, who fans voted second among East guards in his 16th and final NBA season.