Curry, James lead NBA All-Star Game starters

NEW YORK -- Dramatic late runs by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors headline the final results of NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 presented by Sprint. Curry (1,513,324 votes) edged the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (1,470,483) to become  the top overall vote-getter after trailing by 13,285 votes in the most recent balloting update. Curry, who started in last year’s NBA All-Star Game, is the first Warrior to be named a starter in back-to-back All-Star Games since Chris Mullin in 1991-92.

 

Lowry (805,290) rallied from a deficit of more than 100,000 votes at the last balloting update to overtake the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and join the Washington Wizards’ John Wall (886,368) in the starting backcourt for the Eastern Conference. Wall, making his second straight All-Star appearance and first start, is the first Wizards starter since Gilbert Arenas in 2007. This is the first All-Star appearance for Lowry, who becomes the first Raptor to start since Chris Bosh in 2008. The East will have two first-time starters in the backcourt for the first time since Allen Iverson (Philadelphia) and Eddie Jones (Charlotte) in 2000.

 

The 64th NBA All-Star Game will tip off Sunday, Feb. 15, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  The game will be seen by fans in 215 countries and territories and will be heard in 47 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 13th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports' 30th year of NBA All-Star coverage.

 

James, the top vote-getter last season, will start his 11th All-Star Game in 12 seasons. He was followed in the overall voting by the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis (1,369,911), who finished with the most votes among frontcourt players in the Western Conference. At 21, Davis is the youngest starter in this year’s game, which features five first-time starters and 10 starters from 10 different teams.

 

James, who this month became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 24,000 points, is joined in the East frontcourt by the Chicago Bulls’ Pau Gasol (974,177), an All-Star for the fifth time, and the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony (647,005), who earned his eighth All-Star nod. Anthony boasts the fourth-highest scoring average (21.1 points) in All-Star history and is the 10th player to earn four All-Star selections with two different teams (Denver, New York). 

 

Gasol’s brother Marc of the Memphis Grizzlies was picked to start for the West, marking the first time in history two brothers will start an NBA All-Star Game. The Gasols are the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Tom and Dick Van Arsdale played in the 1970 and 1971 games. 

 

Curry, who this month became the fastest player in NBA history to hit 1,000 career three-pointers (369 games), is joined in the West backcourt by the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (1,152,402), named an All-Star for the 17th time, second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19). Bryant, who in December passed Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, is the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history with 280 points. 

 

Davis and Marc Gasol (795,121) will share the West frontcourt with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (700,615), an All-Star for the fifth consecutive season and the only player in the NBA averaging at least 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists this season. It’s the second straight All-Star nod for Davis, who leads the NBA in blocks (2.95 bpg) and ranks among the top 10 in scoring (24.3 ppg), rebounding (10.4 rpg) and field goal percentage (56.3). This is the second selection for the Grizzlies’ Gasol, who is averaging a career-high 19.3 points, nearly five points above his previous best. 

 

NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 presented by Sprint gave fans around the world the opportunity to vote for their favorite players to start in the All-Star Game. For the first time ever, the official NBA All-Star Ballot presented by Sprint included all current NBA players. As part of the NBA’s all-digital program, fans voted on NBA.com; through social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Sina Weibo and Tencent Microblog; via SMS text; and with the NBA Game Time and the NBA Game Time from Sprint applications.

 

The NBA’s 30 head coaches will select the reserves for the 2015 All-Star Game. They must vote for seven players within their conference: two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Reserves will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 29, on TNT. If a player is unable to participate in the All-Star Game after the coaches choose the reserves, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement.

 

The East and West All-Star coaches and coaching staffs are determined by the best record in the conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 1. By virtue of their teams’ victories on Wednesday, the Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach the East and Golden State’s Steve Kerr and his staff will lead the West. The Indiana Pacers’ Frank Vogel and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Scott Brooks were not eligible because they coached in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game.

 

NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. Along with the All-Star Game, TNT will also air the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 13, and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 14. The BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and State Farm All-Star Saturday night will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Other events at Barclays Center include the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA Development League Dream Factory presented by Boost Mobile on Sunday, Feb. 15, airing on NBA TV. Madison Square Garden will host Friday night’s ESPN-televised Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.