There’s a reason why they are the most popular stars of the NBA this season.
The starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star game have been voted in, the league announced on Friday. Barring any injuries leading up to the festivities, these guys from the Western and Eastern Conference will be starting on the February 20 showdown.
So what? Well, let's play the numbers game and dig a little bit into their All-star seasons. We start out West before rounding out this list with the stars from the East.
19
LeBron James’ All-Star selections, which now ties the NBA record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
At 38 years old, in his 20th year, the Los Angeles Laker and Team West Captain is averaging 29.9 points. Not only that, he’s also just 157 buckets shy of eclipsing Kareem as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader of the regular season.
9.25
The highest Box Plus/Minus of all-time is 9.25, owned by back-to-back reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Yes, it has surpassed everyone else's including that of Michael Jordan.
The Denver Nuggets also sit atop of the West with a 34-15 record. With his historic productivity, an MVP hat trick for the Joker doesn’t sound ridiculous anymore.
29
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is starting in Utah even if he played in only 29 games this season. It seems that his quality of play — highlighted by his averages of 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 33 minutes — has convinced voters to disregard his quantity of games.
A monster on the interior, he also averages a league-best 19.1 points in the paint.
15
In terms of numbers alone, Curry might be having the third best season of his legendary career. The two-time MVP is currently putting up 29.3 points, a career-high 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. If not for a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 15 games, the Dubs might have a better record, and he’d be among the frontrunners in the MVP race.
60-21-10
Speaking of MVP frontrunners, Luka is one of them. Earlier this season, became the only person in NBA history to record 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a single game.
30 and 10
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the other captain of the All-Stars, is averaging a career-high 31 points, 12.0 rebounds (2nd in NBA) and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 52.6% from the field. Other than that freakish stat line, no one has more games with 30+ points and 10+ rebounds than Giannis (17) this season.
55.9
Like his usual self, KD has been incredibly productive, posting 29.7 points on an absurd 55.9 percent clip to live up to his Instagram handle of @easymoneysniper.
Before spraining his MCL, he spearheaded the Brooklyn Nets’ resurgence. The Slim Reaper is expected to return before the All-Star break.
35-15
That’s the league-best record of Jayson Tatum’s Boston Celtics. Individually, JT’s averages are at a career-best across the board. 31 points, 8.6 boards and 4.4 assists per contest are MVP-type stats anyway you look at it.
71-8-11
Donovan Mitchell finished with 71 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists in a come-from-behind overtime win against the Bulls. Need we say more about this Cleveland Cavalier?
26 and 5
26.8 points and dropping 5.2 dimes a night through 36 games, Kyrie continues to blow people’s minds with his dazzling moves. After his controversial tweets, the Brooklyn superstar has been balling out.