All-Star Game captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant won’t have to look hard to find familiar faces when they build their teams for the March 7 showcase.
James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers were among the 14 reserves for the exhibition contest announced by the league Tuesday night. Harden joined Durant on the Nets via trade in January, while Davis and James combined to win a championship with the Lakers last season.
Other standouts selected as reserves by NBA coaches include Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (29.8 points per game entering Tuesday), New Orleans Pelicans phenom Zion Williamson (25.1 PPG), and the duo of Donovan Mitchell (24.5 PPG) and Rudy Gobert (13.5 rebounds per game) representing the NBA-best Utah Jazz.
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Williamson will be playing in his first All-Star Game, along with Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls and Julius Randle of the New York Knicks earning their first such nod.
Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns received his 11th All-Star berth and Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers his seventh.
Reserves in full for each league are as follows:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics (1st appearance)
James Harden, Brooklyn Nets (9th)
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls (1st)
Julius Randle, New York Knicks (1st)
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers (3rd)
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (2nd)
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic (2nd)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (8th)
Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers (7th)
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (2nd)
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (6th)
Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz (2nd)
Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns (11th)
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans (1st)
The All-Star Game will be played March 7 in Atlanta. James and Durant will select their rosters March 4, choosing from the pool of starters for each conference before dipping into the reserves.
Joining James as starters from the West are frontcourt players Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers. The backcourt starters are Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
Related: 50 Top NBA players of 2022 – Stephen Curry leads the charge after brilliant season
NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards and Kyrie Irving of the Nets are the starting guards from the East. Joining Durant in the frontcourt are Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Joel Embiid of the 76ers.
76ers head coach Doc Rivers and his staff will lead Team Durant, and Jazz coach Quin Snyder and his staff will oversee Team LeBron.
–Field Level Media