NBA All-Star Game starters announced. Who was the top snub?

NBA All-Star Game starters announced. Who was the top snub? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Introducing the starters for the NBA All-Star Game tournament…

Yes, tournament. The rosters and games will look quite different this year.

The league announced the voting results for the starting units on Thursday, with fans accounting for 50% of the vote, and current NBA players and a media panel accounting for 25% each.

The Eastern Conference starters will be Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks.

The Western Conference starters will be Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets.

James, who will become the first player at age 40 or older to start at All-Star game, extends his NBA record for most selections with his 21st appearance.

Antetokounmpo led all players in fan voting for the second-consecutive season.

As for the starting lineup’s biggest snub…

LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets led the Eastern Conference backcourt in fan voting but finished seventh in media voting. That allowed Brunson to get the starting nod, making the Knicks the only team with two representatives.

Durant, making his 15th All-Star appearance, just edged out Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, who finished fourth in fan and player voting and second in media voting.

The All-Star reserves will be announced next week.

The coaches for this year’s All-Star Game, determined by best record in each conference will be the Thunders’ Mark Daignault and the Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson. Assistant coaches from the Oklahoma City and Cleveland staffs will also coach two teams in the tournament.

The league last month introduced a new format for the NBA All-Star Game, which will now be a mini-tournament featuring four teams and three games. The 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three teams, and the fourth team will be the winner of the Rising Stars game, which is comprised of first- and second-year NBA players and NBA G League standouts.

How the starters will be divided among the three teams remains to be seen.

The three All-Star rosters will be drafted by TNT’s “Inside the NBA” commentators and honorary team general managers Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.