The NBA announced on Thursday the starters for the 2014 All-Star game. Miami Heat star LeBron James leads Eastern Conference, and Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant leads the Western Conference.
Eastern Conference:
LeBron James, MIA.
Paul George, IND.
Carmelo Anthony, NYK.
Dwyane Wade, MIA.
Kyrie Irving, CLE.
Western Conference:
Kevin Durant, OKC.
Stephen Curry, GS.
Kobe Bryant, LAL.
Blake Griffin, LAC.
Kevin Love, MIN.
James led all players with 1,416,419 votes, Durant followed with 1,396,294 votes, then George with 1,211,318 votes and Curry with 1,047,281 votes.
Bryant, who's only played in six games this season, received the fifth most votes with 988,884.
Notable names not making the cut include Dwight Howard (HOU), Chris Paul (LAC), John Wall (WAS), James Harden (HOU), Tyson Chandler (NYK) and Kevin Garnett (BKN).
After the NBA All-Star starters were announced, several players expressed their gratitude to the fans for voting (via ESPN):
Kevin Love: "It means a lot. It doesn't go unnoticed. The fans have been so great this year not only to me, but to the rest of the team. Everybody's had my back and had the team's back so much. It really means a lot."
Paul George: "It means a lot because that means the fans are really watching us as a team. For us to have the No. 1 record in the league, and playing at a high level, I think the fans are starting to follow us as a whole and I think that's the biggest thing with me being a starter."
Stephen Curry: "It's kind of a surreal feeling. I saw Kobe come on the screen and you knew that next person on the screen was going to be more or I was going to get left off that list. Just when I saw my name it was a real emotional kind of experience and glad my wife and daughter were here to watch it with me."
The All-Star game takes place on Feb. 16. The reserves, voted on by coaches in each conference, will be announced next Thursday.
*Information via ESPN.
