Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and forward Kevin Durant have been named starters on the NBA Western Conference All-Star team, the league announced today. Curry will make his fourth All-Star appearance and is the first Warriors player to be named an All-Star starter in four-straight seasons since Wilt Chamberlain (1960-63). Durant will make his eighth-consecutive All-Star appearance and his first as a member of the Warriors, starting the game for the sixth time (2011-14, 2016-17). It marks the second time in three years that the Warriors will have two players start the All-Star game (Curry & Klay Thompson in 2015) and is the first time since fan voting was introduced in 1975 that two Warriors were voted in as starters by the fans (Thompson replaced an injured starter in 2015). Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the All-Star balloting, with Curry (1,848,121 votes) and Durant (1,768,185) both leading their respective position groups in Western Conference fan voting.
Curry, 28, owns averages of 24.6 points (12th in the NBA), 6.1 assists (15th), 5.2 rebounds and 1.81 steals (tied for eighth) in 33.6 minutes over 42 games (all starts) this season and is on pace to become the first Warrior since Chris Mullin (1988-93) to average at least 22 points per game in five-straight seasons. Curry, who has led the league in three-point field goals in each of the last four seasons and in 2015-16 broke his own NBA record for single-season three-pointers with 402, ranks second in the league with 158 threes this season and set an NBA record with 13 three-pointers in a single game on Nov. 7 vs. New Orleans. The reigning back-to-back MVP, who was the first-ever unanimous selection for the award last season, earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors for games played from Jan. 2-8, his eighth career weekly honor.
Durant, 28, is averaging a team-high 26.2 points (seventh in the NBA) to go with a career-high 8.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.71 blocks and 1.12 steals in 34.4 minutes over 42 games (all starts) in his first season with Golden State and is the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and field goal percentage, hitting a career-high 54.4 percent from the field (tied for ninth). The 2013-14 league MVP is on pace to become the first Warrior since Rick Barry in 1966-67 to score at least 26 points and grab at least eight rebounds per game over the course of an entire season. Durant was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Nov. 21-27, his 25th career weekly award.
Curry has taken part in NBA All-Star Weekend in six of his previous seven campaigns, averaging 17.7 points, 7.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds in his three appearances in the All-Star Game (2014-16). The 6’3” guard joins Paul Arizin, Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain as the only Warriors to start in at least four All-Star Games. Curry has also participated in the Three-Point Contest five times (2010, 2013-16)—winning the event in 2015 before finishing as runner-up to teammate Klay Thompson last year—in addition to the Shooting Stars Competition (2014 & 2015), the Rising Stars Challenge (2010 & 2011) and the Skills Challenge (won the event in 2011).
Durant has participated in NBA All-Star Weekend in all nine of his previous seasons in the league, appearing in the Rising Stars Challenge in 2008 and 2009 before being named to the Western Conference All-Star team in each of his last eight campaigns. In seven appearances (five starts) in the All-Star Game (2010-16), Durant owns averages of 25.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists, including a 36-point performance on his way to All-Star Game MVP honors in 2012. The four-time NBA scoring champion is the only player in NBA history to score 30-or-more points in four consecutive All-Star games (2011-14). Durant has also participated in the Three-Point Contest (2011 & 2012) and the Shooting Stars Competition (2014) at NBA All-Star Weekend.
The Warriors own an NBA-best record of 36-6 (.857) and are the only team in NBA history to win at least 36 of their first 42 games in three consecutive seasons. Curry and Durant are on pace to become the first pair of Warriors teammates to both average at least 24 points per game over the course of an entire season.
Joining Curry and Durant in the Western Conference starting lineup are Anthony Davis (Pelicans), James Harden (Rockets), and Kawhi Leonard (Spurs). The Eastern Conference starters are Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Jimmy Butler (Bulls), DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers) and LeBron James (Cavaliers).
Players were ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups—fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The five players (two guards and three frontcourt players) with the best score in each conference were named NBA All-Star Game starters. Fan voting served as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.
The 66th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The game will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 15th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 32nd year of NBA All-Star coverage.
Both Curry’s and Durant’s Western Conference All-Star jerseys (see attached for photos) are currently available for purchase in adult and youth sizes at warriors.com.
MULTIPLE ALL-STAR STARTERS IN WARRIORS HISTORY
YEAR
2017
2015
1967
1966
1956
1952
1951
ALL-STAR STARTERS
Stephen Curry & Kevin Durant
Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson
Rick Barry & Nate Thurmond
Rick Barry, Guy Rodgers & Nate Thurmond
Paul Arizin & Neil Johnston
Paul Arizin & Andy Phillip
Joe Fulks & Andy Phillip