Skip to content

Durant doesn't want to pick All-Star team, but Curry not opposed

Zhong Zhi / Getty Images Sport / Getty

At least one of the two members of the Golden State Warriors in the running to captain an All-Star squad this year isn't opposed to selecting the team playground-style.

The other ... not so much.

"I don't want to do it," Kevin Durant told The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "I'd rather somebody else do it. It's cool to be an All-Star, but all the extra stuff ... I just want to go play in the game. [The new format]'s cool, a different way, a creative way that's good for the fans. But me, I'll let somebody else pick the teams."

Stephen Curry, on the other hand, would have more fun with the process if he were voted captain.

"Why not?" said the two-time league Most Valuable Player. "I'll be the first to usher in the new system. I used to go to the playground all the time and you wanted to be the guy picking teams. That meant you were something on the court back in the day. It'll be a cool vibe to see how it all shakes out and how unique you can make the lineups."

The second returns for All-Star fan voting were released Thursday, with Curry overtaking Durant for the lead among Western Conference talent by 43,599 votes.

The leading vote-getters in both conferences will be named captains under the updated format. They'll then choose from a pool of players voted in as starters - with 50 percent of those nominations coming from fans, and the other half from players and members of the media - and then the reserves, who are chosen by coaches.

The starters and captains will be announced on Jan. 18, with the reserves revealed five days later on Jan. 23.

The 2018 All-Star Game goes down on Feb. 18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox