The NBA announced Thursday that guard Kyle Lowry has been voted by the fans as a starter to the Eastern Conference team for the 2015 All-Star Game. Lowry is the third Raptor to be elected a starter, joining Vince Carter (2000-04) and Chris Bosh (2007). He is the fifth Raptor to be named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team: Bosh (2006-10), Carter (2000-04), Antonio Davis (2001) and DeMar DeRozan (2014). Lowry will participate in his first NBA All-Star Weekend after finishing second among East guards with 805,290 votes.
The 64th NBA All-Star Game will be televised on TSN / TNT and will tip off Sunday, February 15, at Madison Square Garden in New York City (8 p.m. ET). The game will be seen by fans in 215 countries and territories and will be heard in 47 languages.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, January 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, February 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, February 13, and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, February 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, February 15, airing on NBA TV. Madison Square Garden will host Friday night’s ESPN-televised Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.