NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2008 – In his fourth NBA season, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was named an All-Star Game starter for the first time on Thursday.

Howard was the leading vote getter for Eastern Conference centers, receiving more than two million votes.

"I would like to say thank you. It's an honor to receive the number of votes I did, so the fans have been very gracious to me," Howard said. "Just thank you - I hope I can go out there and perform well."

Howard was selected as an All-Star reserve last season, but received the third most votes in the league - enough to elevate him into a starting position for this year's game, which will be held February 17 in New Orleans.

"It's very big honor," Howard said. "We have some great centers in this league, Shaquille O'Neal being one of them, and to have the possibility to be able to start over him, it's an honor. To even be in the same sentence as him is an honor."

Howard will be a part of a very talented Eastern Conference lineup that will include Boston's Kevin Garnett, Cleveland's LeBron James, Miami's Dwyane Wade and and New Jersey's Jason Kidd.

"For me, everything I have been going through in the league is just a big blessing - playing with some of the guys that I grew up watching and playing with guys that I've always wanted to play with, like a LeBron James or Kevin Garnett. It's just amazing," Howard said.

Garnett led all players in votes received in the NBA All-Star Balloting program presented by T-Mobile that determines starters for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Garnett, who will be appearing in his 11th All-Star Game and was the MVP of the 2003 All-Star Game, received 2,399,148 votes, the sixth highest total in NBA All-Star Balloting history. Among active players, Garnett’s 11th All-Star selection ranks second to Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal (14).

Garnett edged last year’s top vote-getter and 2006 All-Star MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who came in second overall with 2,108,831 votes. James will make his fourth career All-Star appearance, while Howard finished with the third most votes overall (2,066,991) and will make his first career start in his second career All-Star appearance.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant led the Western Conference, finishing with 2,004,940 votes. Bryant, who was the youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998, will make his 10th All-Star trip. The reigning All-Star MVP, Bryant edged Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony as the top vote-getter in the West. Anthony will make his first career All-Star start after finishing with 1,723,701 votes.

Through the 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting program, fans worldwide were responsible for voting in the starters for the 57th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in New Orleans on Sunday, Feb. 17. The game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Jan. 31, on TNT.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (1,608,260), who will make his third consecutive All-Star start, and New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd (1,246,386), who was voted to his ninth appearance as an All-Star, join Garnett, James and Howard in the Eastern Conference starting lineup.

Joining Bryant and Anthony as part of the Western Conference starting lineup are the Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming at center (1,709,180), who was voted as a starter for the sixth straight year; the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (1,712,800), who has been selected to every All-Star team since he entered the league in 1997, will start at forward; and Anthony’s teammate, two-time All-Star MVP (2001, 2004) Allen Iverson (1,203,152), who will make his ninth consecutive All-Star appearance starting at guard.

In selecting the reserves, the head coaches must vote for seven players within their conference, including two guards, two forwards, a center and two players regardless of position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their team. After the coaches select the reserves, if a player is unable to participate in the All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select a replacement.

Boston Head Coach Doc Rivers and the Celtics coaching staff earned the honor to coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars by clinching the best winning percentage in the conference through games of Feb. 3. The Western Conference Coach is yet to be determined. Last year’s All-Star coaches – Phoenix’s Mike D’Antoni and Washington’s Eddie Jordan – are not eligible to coach this year.

As with all of this year's All-Star participants, Garnett, James, Howard, Bryant, Anthony and the rest of the starters will join over 2,500 members of the NBA Family for the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service on Friday, Feb. 15. The volunteers will participate in a variety of service projects at 10 different sites throughout New Orleans.

The 2008 NBA All-Star uniforms were also unveiled today and were inspired by the uniqueness of New Orleans, the look and feel of the French Quarter, and the rod iron architecture that is unique to the city. The back of the jerseys are silver for the West and gold for the East to represent the conference colors.

As the presenting partner of the 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting program, and in support of the NBA’s season-long effort to help the on-going rebuilding of New Orleans, T-Mobile is donating $1 for every ballot cast through T-Mobile channels to the New Orleans Recovery School District. With more than 10,000 t-zones votes and nearly 40,000 votes cast at T-Mobile retail locations, fans raised a grand total of $50,000.

The 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting program, which ran from Nov. 14, 2007 through Jan 20., allowed fans worldwide to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the All-Star Game in a variety of ways, including: at each NBA arena; in 20 languages on NBA.com; at more than 1,500 T-Mobile-owned retail locations with custom T-Mobile All-Star ballots and ballot boxes; and through mobile phones at t-zones on T-Mobile phones or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. For the first time, an All-Star Balloting widget was available on NBA.com. Fans could “grab” the widget and place it on their blogs, social network pages, or personal Web sites allowing others to vote directly from the widget. Select NBA arenas also carried a Spanish-language version of the ballot. This year’s other NBA All-Star Balloting partners include 2K Sports and GameStop.

NBA All-Star 2008 is a week-long celebration that enables fans to experience the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes playing the game they love and features a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals such as NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR GAME STARTERS

Eastern Conference
F – Kevin Garnett, Boston
F – LeBron James, Cleveland
C – Dwight Howard, Orlando
G – Jason Kidd, New Jersey
G – Dwyane Wade, Miami
Head coach: Doc Rivers, Boston

Western Conference
F – Carmelo Anthony, Denver
F – Tim Duncan, San Antonio
C – Yao Ming, Houston
G – Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
G – Allen Iverson, Denver
Head coach: TBD

2008 NBA ALL-STAR FINAL BALLOTING

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Bos) 2,399,148; LeBron James (Clev) 2,108,831; Chris Bosh (Tor) 838,498; Paul Pierce (Bos) 574,159; Yi Jianlian (Mil) 450,515; Caron Butler (Wash) 340,619; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 301,038; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 293,200; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 280,369; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 240,725.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,608,260; Jason Kidd (NJ) 1,246,386; Ray Allen (Bos) 1,061,740; Vince Carter (NJ) 981,050; Gilbert Arenas (Wash) 797,502; Chauncey Billups (Det) 625,772; Michael Redd (Mil) 375,243; Richard Hamilton (Det) 308,357; Joe Johnson (Atl) 253,308; T.J. Ford (Tor) 253,216.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 2,066,991; Shaquille O’Neal (Mia) 965,171; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 303,978; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 283,576; Ben Wallace (Chi) 256,604; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 217,675; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) 205,152; Emeka Okafor (Char) 147,447; Eddy Curry (NY) 107,279; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 98,593.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,723,701; Tim Duncan (SA) 1,712,800; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 1,259,025; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 553,624; Shawn Marion (Phx) 514,142; Shane Battier (Hou) 475,483; Kevin Durant (Sea) 463,187; Luis Scola (Hou) 424,470; Josh Howard (Dal) 423,973; Grant Hill (Phx) 389,672.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 2,004,940; Allen Iverson (Den) 1,203,152; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,192,742; Steve Nash (Phx) 1,174,125; Chris Paul (NO) 563,525; Manu Ginobili (SA) 541,148; Tony Parker (SA) 500,009; Baron Davis (GS) 499,186; Jason Terry (Dal) 300,125; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 270,412.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,709,180; Amaré Stoudemire (Phx) 998,969; Marcus Camby (Den) 412,563; Tyson Chandler (NO) 289,593; Erick Dampier (Dal) 254,662; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 216,271; Pau Gasol (Mem) 206,408; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 202,403; Chris Kaman (LAC) 189,385; Andris Biedrins (GS) 161,411.)