James, Durant named as NBA All-Star Game captains

The NBA has released its pool of starters for the 2021 edition of its All-Star Game on Friday morning (Manila time), with LeBron James and Kevin Durant leading the way.

Joining them as starters from the Western Conference are Nikola Jokić, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, and Luka Dončić, while completing the cast from the Eastern Conference are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, and Bradley Beal.

Both James and Durant led their respective conferences in fan voting to earn the nod as captains, and they will be making their selections for their respective squads on the morning of March 5 (Manila time) through the 2021 NBA All-Star Draft. They will pick the starters first, followed by the reserves, whose pool will be revealed on the morning of February 24 (Manila time). The latter is selected by the league's coaches.

The starters' pool has made history already with half of its composition coming from overseas: Antetokounmpo (Greece via Nigeria), Dončić (Slovenia), Embiid (Cameroon), Irving (United States, but born in Australia) and Jokić (Serbia).

The 70th edition of the NBA All-Star Game will take place on March 8 (Manila time) at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. As a result of the pandemic, activities have been compressed into one night, with the Skills Challenge and 3pt Contest slated pre-game, and the Slam Dunk competition at halftime.