LeBron James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar바카라™s NBA career scoring record. And now, he has caught Abdul-Jabbar on another page of the All-Star record book.
LeBron James was announced on Thursday as an NBA All-Star for the 19th time, the Los Angeles Lakers바카라™ star tying Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history. James 바카라” the leading overall vote-getter 바카라” will be the captain of one of the teams for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, while Eastern Conference voting leader Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will captain the other side.
This is the sixth year the NBA has used the captain format for the All-Star Game; James has been a captain every time and has never lost, taking a 5-0 record into this year. Antetokounmpo is a captain for the third time, after also earning that right in 2019 and 2020.
James and Antetokounmpo will pick their teams shortly before the game in Salt Lake City, a newly announced twist and a departure from past years in which the captains picked a week or two in advance of All-Star weekend.
The other eight starters they바카라™ll be choosing from, barring any changes because of injury beforehand, are: Denver바카라™s two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic of Dallas, Golden State바카라™s Stephen Curry, Boston바카라™s Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Cleveland바카라™s Donovan Mitchell and New Orleans바카라™ Zion Williamson.
바카라śI바카라™m definitely blessed and humbled to be a part of this,바카라ť Mitchell said during the televised starters바카라™ announcement on TNT. 바카라śTo be a part of my fourth All-Star and now to be a starter, I couldn바카라™t be happier.바카라ť
The big intrigue was the third East frontcourt spot, where Philadelphia바카라™s Joel Embiid 바카라” No. 2 in the NBA바카라™s scoring race entering Thursday at 33.4 points per game 바카라” was the odd man out after Antetokounmpo, Durant and Tatum were the top three in the balloting.
Starters 바카라” three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference 바카라” were selected by a combination of three different votes: fan balloting counted for 50%, media balloting was worth 25% and voting by the NBA바카라™s players made up the final 25%.
The reserves, which are chosen by votes from the league바카라™s coaches, will be announced Feb. 2. Among the players certain to merit strong consideration: Portland바카라™s Damian Lillard, Oklahoma City바카라™s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Boston바카라™s Jaylen Brown and Miami바카라™s Bam Adebayo.
James is 157 points away from Abdul-Jabbar바카라™s career scoring total of 38,387 points. At his current average of 29.9 points per game, James will need just over five games to break the record 바카라“ and, if he doesn바카라™t miss any games in the interim, would be on pace to pass Abdul-Jabbar in a Feb. 7 home game against Oklahoma City.
And that means the All-Star weekend, if James passes the record beforehand, could be a celebration of his breaking a record that Abdul-Jabbar has held for nearly 40 years.
바카라śCalculating out when it might happen, it seems at this point it바카라™s likely to happen before our All-Star break,바카라ť NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last week in Paris. 바카라śIf it were to happen before our All-Star break, it seems like the All-Star Game this year, which is in Salt Lake City, may be the perfect opportunity to honor him.바카라ť
James is now tied with Abdul-Jabbar for most All-Star selections, and if James plays in Salt Lake City he will become the first player in NBA history to actually appear in 19 All-Star games. Abdul-Jabbar was selected to the 1973 game but did not play.
That바카라™ll be just another entry on a long list of All-Star records for James. He바카라™s the first player to be selected to 19 consecutive All-Star games 바카라” until Thursday, he shared that record with 18-time-selection Kobe Bryant, the Lakers legend who died Jan. 26, 2020, exactly three years to the date from Thursday.
If he actually starts, it바카라™ll be James바카라™ 19th time doing so, four more anyone else in league history; Bryant made 15 starts. The 19 starts in a row extends another All-Star record; Bob Cousy has the second-longest such streak, having started 13 straight.
James also is the career All-Star leader in minutes, points, field goals made and field goals attempted.
