The captains of the Western Conference teams, the forward LeBron James, and the East, the Greek power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, did not generate any surprise during the process of selecting their respective quintets for the 69th edition of the All-Star Party by keeping in each of them the elected by popular vote.

James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who won the right to select first, decided on his teammate, power forward Anthony Davis , then as number three he preferred forward Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers), he assured with the five to Slovenian base Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) and seventh he used with the guard James Harden (Houston Rockets).

While Antetokounmpo, current Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the league, with the second team preferred another tall man, Cameroon center Joel Embiid of the Sixers. Followed by Cameroonian power forward, Pascal Siakam of the Raptors, while the Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics) and Trae Young bases of the Hawks completed the fifth headline of Antetokounmpo, who chose first from the reserve list.

That allowed him to choose his teammate forward Khris Middleton , then left with the center Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), and in the third choice of reserves for his team he managed to the French center Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), followed by Jimmy Butler (Miami), baseman Kyle Lowry (Toronto), power forward Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans) and bodyguard Donovan Mitchell (Utah).

"You can't go wrong."

In this way, only three western reserve players joined the Antetokoumpo team. While James did the same with his team's reserves by keeping four of the seven that were chosen by the Western Conference coaches.

The Lakers star chose Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers as his first reserve, then left with the first Eastern Conference player to arrive at his team, Australian baseman Ben Simmons of the Sixers.

Another foreign player, the Serbian center Nikola Jokic , of the Nuggets, was the third reserve selected by James, who returned to look for a player from the East to stay with forward Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), while also preferred the bases West, Chris Paul (Oklahoma City) and Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets), to close with Lithuanian power forward Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers).

Unlike last year, when James and Antetokounmpo made an exchange, this time both players said they were happy with their lists, and did not mention the idea of ​​making any changes. "At the end of the day, you can't go wrong," Antetokounmpo said. "They are all exceptional players, all great, and I hope we can have fun during the weekend."

I remember Kobe

Before the draw began, James and Antetokounmpo announced the Chicago-based charities that their respective teams will support in the All-Star Game, with James choosing Chicago Scholars and Antetokounmpo after School Matters.

As a tribute to honor the memory of former Los Angeles Lakers superstar escort Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter accident with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others who were aboard the wrecked ship, the Antetokounmpo Team will use the '24', and Team LeBron the '2'.

The NBA also announced major changes in this year's All-Star format, turning each period into a beneficial mini-match before a last quarter not timed with a defined score that will decide which team wins. The scores will be reset again to 0-0 at the beginning of the second and third period, then reset to begin the fourth period.

The team that wins the All-Star Game will be the first to reach the established score, determined by all the points the team scored in the first three quarters combined, plus 24, in a tribute to the shirt Bryant wore for the last decade of his career in the NBA.

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