East All-Star Game starters announced, LeBron named captain
LeBron James has been named as one of two captains along with Stephen Curry for the 2018 All-Star Game.
James headlines a group of starters from the East that includes Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and DeMar DeRozan.
Those four players will enter a pot with the Western Conference starters for James and Curry to first pick from, as this will be the inaugral season in which captains will choose the two teams.
The starters were determined with 50 percent of the vote coming from fans, 25 percent from players, and 25 percent from the media. The voting breakdown was as follows:
Fan voting
| Frontcourt (votes) | Guards (votes) |
|---|---|
| LeBron James (2638294) | Kyrie Irving (2170833) |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (2530211) | DeMar DeRozan (998999) |
| Joel Embiid (1285587) | Ben Simmons (669397) |
| Kristaps Porzingis (1116769) | Victor Oladipo (634495) |
| Kevin Love (771929) | Dwyane Wade (617271) |
Media voting
| Frontcourt (votes) | Guards (votes) |
|---|---|
| LeBron James (99) | Kyrie Irving (96) |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (99) | DeMar DeRozan (89) |
| Joel Embiid (66) | Victor Oladipo (11) |
| Kristaps Porzingis (14) | John Wall (1) |
| Al Horford (13) | Bradley Beal (1) |
Player voting
| Frontcourt (votes) | Guards (votes) |
|---|---|
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (226) | Kyrie Irving (181) |
| LeBron James (220) | DeMar DeRozan (105) |
| Kristaps Porzingis (100) | Victor Oladipo (73) |
| Joel Embiid (94) | John Wall (57) |
| Andre Drummond (38) | Bradley Beal (43) |
James has been stellar as usual, averaging 27.3 points, 8.8 assists, and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers are in a free fall of late, but they're still the third-best team in the East despite an aging and injured roster.
Antetokounmpo, along with James, is a leading candidate for Most Valuable Player this season. He's averaging 28.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting 54.6 percent from the field.
Irving has thrived as the leading figure on a revamped Celtics team that sits atop the East. The former All-Star Game MVP is averaging 24.1 points with five assists per game.
Embiid is finally healthy after appearing in just 31 games in his first three seasons. The Cameroonian pivot is averaging 23.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 31.3 minutes per game.
DeRozan, a four-time All-Star, is averaging 25.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and five assists for the Eastern Conference's second-placed Raptors.