 Karl Malone received his 14th All-Star selection, tying him with Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek for second all-time. Kent Horner NBAE/Getty Images |
Joining Pierce on the East team will be first time All-Stars Jermaine O’Neal of Indiana and Shareef Abdur-Rahim of Atlanta, as well as Miami’s Alonzo Mourning, Milwaukee’s Ray Allen, New Jersey’s Jason Kidd and Orlando’s Tracy McGrady.
Perennial All-Stars Karl Malone of Utah, Gary Payton of Seattle, and Sacramento’s Chris Webber, join Nowitzki and three other first-time All-Stars – Dallas’ Steve Nash, Minnesota’s Wally Szczerbiak and Sacramento’s Peja Stojakovic – on the West squad.
Previously selected as starters for the East through the NBA All-Star 2002 balloting program were Boston’s Antoine Walker, Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo, Toronto’s Vince Carter and Washington’s Michael Jordan. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, Houston’s Steve Francis and Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett will start for the West.
The selections of Nash (Canada), Nowitzki (Germany) and Stojakovic (Yugoslavia), along with voted-starters Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Mutombo (Congo), make a record five international players from five different countries that will participate in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. Nash is the first Canadian to be selected as an NBA All-Star.
A total of eight players, seven reserves and West starter Francis, earned their first career All-Star selections.
Malone’s selection is the 14th of his career; it is the eighth for Payton and the seventh for Mourning. Kidd earned his fifth All-Star Game selection, it is Webber’s fourth, the third for Allen and second for McGrady.
Six teams - Boston, Dallas, the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Sacramento – have a pair of players in the game, and in total 18 NBA teams are represented on the combined East and West rosters.
The 29 NBA head coaches were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences - two guards, two forwards, a center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
Should any player be unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to injury, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select the replacement.
New Jersey’s Byron Scott will coach the East All-Stars and Dallas’ Don Nelson will guide the West All-Stars.
The 2002 NBA All-Star Game will be broadcast in over 200 countries around the world and also on NBC, CTV in Canada, ESPN RADIO and audio in several languages on NBA.com (http://www.nba.com) on Sunday, February 10 at 5 p.m. EST.
Following are the complete rosters for the East and West teams for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game at the First Union Center in Philadelphia:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Head Coach: Byron Scott (New Jersey)
| Player (Team) | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. |
| Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Atlanta)** | F | 6-9 | 240 |
| Ray Allen (Milwaukee) | G | 6-5 | 205 |
| *Vince Carter (Toronto) | F | 6-6 | 225 |
| *Allen Iverson (Philadelphia) | G | 6-0 | 165 |
| *Michael Jordan (Washington) | G | 6-6 | 218 |
| Jason Kidd (New Jersey) | G | 6-4 | 212 |
| Tracy McGrady (Orlando) | G/F | 6-8 | 210 |
| Alonzo Mourning (Miami) | C | 6-10 | 261 |
| *Dikembe Mutombo (Philadelphia) | C | 7-2 | 265 |
| Jermaine O’Neal (Indiana)** | C/F | 6-11 | 242 |
| Paul Pierce (Boston)** | G/F | 6-6 | 230 |
| *Antoine Walker (Boston) | F | 6-9 | 245 |
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Head Coach: Don Nelson (Dallas)
| Player (Team) | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. |
| *Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers) | G | 6-7 | 215 |
| *Tim Duncan (San Antonio) | F | 7-0 | 260 |
| *Steve Francis (Houston)** | G | 6-3 | 195 |
| *Kevin Garnett (Minnesota) | F | 6-11 | 220 |
| Karl Malone (Utah) | F | 6-9 | 255 |
| Steve Nash (Dallas)** | G | 6-3 | 195 |
| Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)** | F/C | 7-0 | 245 |
| *Shaquille O’Neal (L.A. Lakers) | C | 7-1 | 335 |
| Gary Payton (Seattle) | G | 6-4 | 180 |
| Peja Stojakovic (Sacramento)** | F | 6-9 | 229 |
| Wally Szczerbiak (Minnesota)** | G/F | 6-7 | 244 |
| Chris Webber (Sacramento) | F | 6-10 | 245 |
*denotes starter
**denotes first time selection
