MIAMI, January 17 – The NBA announced tonight that HEAT players LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were selected as starters for the Eastern Conference in a vote of the fans for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. The 62nd NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at the Toyota Center on Sunday, February 17, 2013.
James finished as the top vote-getting player in the Eastern Conference with 1,583,646 votes. The 2013 All-Star appearance will mark the ninth consecutive for the two-time NBA All-Star MVP (2006 & 2008). In his previous eight All-Star appearances (all starts), he averaged 25.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.38 steals and 31.0 minutes while shooting 53.2 percent from the field. With his 18th point last night, James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points. Additionally, in the same game, he dished out his 5,000th career assist in his 726th career game, becoming the second-fastest player in NBA history to achieve that feat, second to only Oscar Robertson after he recorded his 5,000th career assist in 671 career games.
Wade, the 2010 NBA All-Star MVP, led the Eastern Conference guards with 1,052,310 votes. His 2013 All-Star appearance will mark his ninth-straight and the eighth consecutive year as a starter. In his previous eight All-Star appearances, he averaged 17.8 points, 4.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 2.63 steals and 26.4 minutes. He posted a 24-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in last year’s All-Star Game and hit the game-winning field goal in the 2006 All-Star Game. His nine appearances and eight starts are both Miami HEAT franchise highs.
James and Wade are joined by frontcourt players Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics) and Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) as well as guard Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics). The Western Conference frontcourt starters are Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers) and Dwight Howard (Los Angeles Lakers) and guards Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) and Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers). The Eastern and Western Conference reserves will be selected by the league’s 30 head coaches and will be announced on Thursday, January 24 on TNT.