All-Star 2017

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The NBA announced on Thursday that Pacers guard/forward Glenn Robinson III will take part in the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest, part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, at the 2017 All-Star Weekend in New Orleans.

All-Star Saturday Night, which also includes the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and the Three-Point Contest, will take place at the Smoothie King Center on Saturday, Feb. 18. Television coverage will begin at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.

In his third NBA season and his second with the Pacers, Robinson is currently averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. A 6-6 swingman out of Michigan, he has appeared in 46 games and started 24 for the Pacers in the 2016-17 season while shooting 45 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from 3-point range.

Robinson will be one of several Pacers players to take part in All-Star Weekend. Last week, the league announced that center Myles Turner will play in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 17 and forward Paul George will play in his fourth career All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 19.

Robinson will be the eighth Pacers player to take part in the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend. Fred Jones won the event in 2004. Other Pacers players to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest include George (2012 and 2014), Gerald Green (2013), Jonathan Bender (2001), Antonio Davis (1994), Kenny Williams (1991), and Terrence Stansbury (1985 and 1986). Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman won a season-long dunk contest held over the course of the 1976-77 NBA season.

Robinson's competitors will be Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon, last year's runner-up, NBA All-Star DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers, and Derrick Jones Jr. of the Phoenix Suns.

Gordon returns to Verizon Slam Dunk after a dazzling performance last year that included three consecutive perfect scores of 50. This season, the three-year veteran is averaging a career-high 11.4 points per game. The 6-9 forward has scored at least 20 points six times after recording five 20-point games in his first two seasons combined.

Jordan, a 2015-16 All-NBA First Team selection and a first-time All-Star in 2017, is tied for the NBA lead in rebounding (13.8 rpg) and paces the league in field goal percentage (69.6) for the fifth straight season. The 6-11 center also has a league-high 150 dunks in his ninth season.

Jones has split time this season between the Suns and their NBA Development League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns. The 6-7 rookie forward will become the first player to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk competition and play in the NBA D-League in the same season.  Nicknamed “Airplane Mode” for his leaping ability, Jones won a national dunk contest for high school players in 2015 before playing one season at UNLV.

Verizon Slam Dunk is a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.

glenn-robinson-iii-to-compete-in-slam-dunk-contest

Glenn Robinson III to Compete in Slam Dunk Contest

INDIANAPOLIS – The National Basketball Association announced Thursday night that Indiana Pacers forward Paul George has been named as an Eastern Conference reserve for the NBA All-Star game, Feb. 19, at New Orleans.

This is George's fourth All-Star recognition, placing him third in team history behind Jermaine O'Neal with six All-Star games and Reggie Miller with five. Eastern Conference coaches voted for the team's reserves.

PHOTO GALLERY: Paul George's 2016-17 Season-to-Date »

"Anytime you get named to the All-Star team, it's a big honor personally but something I share with the entire organization, especially my coaches and teammates," said George. "This never gets old and I'm appreciative of the coaches for selecting me."

George is the Pacers' leading scorer at 22.2 points per game (21st in the NBA), while also averaging six rebounds, 1.73 steals (10th in the NBA) and shooting 92.6 percent from the free throw line (1st in the NBA).

The All-Star game will be televised nationally by TNT.

Below are the rosters for the 2017 All-Star Game:

*denotes starter
#denotes first-time selection

paul-george-named-to-all-star-team-as-eastern-conference-reserve

Paul George Named to All-Star Team as Eastern Conference Reserve

Second-year center Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers was named Wednesday to participate in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge the Friday night of All-Star Weekend, Feb. 17-19, at New Orleans.

"To be voted to play in the Rising Stars game is a great personal honor, but more importantly I'm really excited to represent the Pacers' franchise and my team and coaches, said Turner. "I'm really looking forward to the experience of All-Star weekend to see what it's all about."

PHOTO GALLERY: Myles Turner's 2016-17 Season-to-Date »

Turner is the Pacers' second-leading scorer this season at 15.7 points per game while leading the Pacers in rebounding (7.6 per game) and blocked shots (2.3).

The game will feature first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. Players are selected by a vote of the league’s assistant coaches. The game will be televised nationally by TNT at 9:00 ET.

Below are the rosters for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge:

myles-turner-to-play-in-rising-stars-challenge-at-all-star-weekend

Myles Turner to Play in Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend

NEW YORK – LeBron James and Kyrie Irving of the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the league-leading Golden State Warriors headline the list of 10 players selected by fans, NBA players and media to start in the NBA All-Star Game 2017. James and Durant finished as the top vote-getters at their respective positions among all three voting groups.

In addition to James (frontcourt) and Irving (guard), the Eastern Conference starters include the Milwaukee Bucks; Giannis Antetokounmpo (frontcourt), the Chicago Bulls' Jimmy Butler (frontcourt) and the Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan (guard).  In the Western Conference, Curry (guard) and Durant (frontcourt) are joined by the New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis (frontcourt), the Houston Rockets' James Harden (guard) and the San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard (frontcourt).

The Eastern Conference and Western Conference starting lineups for the 66th NBA All-Star Game were revealed tonight on TNT, which will also unveil the All-Star reserves on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. ET. The NBA All-Star Game is set for Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans and will be televised by TNT at 8 p.m. ET and broadcast by ESPN Radio.

Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each. Fans cast more than 38 million votes during NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon, a 146% increase from the same time period last year. James was the leading vote-getter among fans with 1,893,751 votes, while Curry (1,848,121), Durant (1,768,185) and Irving (1,696,769) also had the highest fan totals in their respective position groups.

After all votes were tallied, 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. DeRozan (796,112 fan votes) won the tiebreaker with the Boston Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas (755,102) for the second starting spot among East guards, while Curry (1,848,121) and Harden (1,771,375) won the tiebreaker with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (1,575,865) for the two starting spots among West guards.

Below are the overall scores – based on results from all three voting groups – for the top finishers at each position. Each player's score is weighted based on 50% for fan vote, 25% for players vote and 25% for media vote.  The formula to determine a player's score is (Fan Rank * 2 + Player Rank + Media Rank)/4. For a list of media voters and complete voting results, please visit NBA.com/official.

george-finishes-seventh-in-all-star-voting

George Finishes Seventh in All-Star Voting

The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry lead their respective conferences in the second fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon.

Fan voting continues to surge as more than 21 million votes have been cast, a 142% increase from the same time period last year.

ALL-STAR VOTING: #VotePacers for 2017 All-Star Game »

Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the 66th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. All current NBA players and a panel of basketball media will account for 25 percent each, with each participant completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from both conferences.

Voting for fans, players and media will conclude on Monday, Jan. 16 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and starters will be announced live on TNT on Thursday, Jan. 19 during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader.com at 7 p.m. ET.  The Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, will be announced the following week on TNT on Thursday, Jan. 26.

In the second fan returns, James totaled 1,066,147 votes to maintain the top spot among all players and increase his lead in the East frontcourt over the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (963,110). Cleveland's Kevin Love (473,328) edges the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (457,300) by 16,028 votes for third place in the East frontcourt. Cleveland's Kyrie Irving (971,362) and the Chicago Bulls' Dwyane Wade (514,866) continue to set the pace among East guards, while the Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan (453,538) remains in third place.

In the West, Curry (990,390) has pulled ahead of teammate Kevin Durant (987,479) as the conference's leading vote-getter.  Curry and the Houston Rockets' James Harden (961,685) remain the front-runners at guard, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook (899,024). Durant, Golden State's Zaza Pachulia (823,376) and the San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard (630,766) continue to lead the frontcourt, with the New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis (567,201) in fourth place.

See below for the second fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon.

NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2017 PRESENTED BY VERIZON

Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (CLE) 1,066,147
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 963,110
3. Kevin Love (CLE) 473,328
4. Joel Embiid (PHI) 457,300
5. Jimmy Butler (CHI) 400,448
6. Carmelo Anthony (NY) 327,716
7. Kristaps Porzingis (NY) 324,106
8. Paul George (IND) 249,484
9. Jabari Parker (MIL) 120,022
10 Tristan Thompson (CLE) 114,759

Guards
1. Kyrie Irving (CLE) 971,362
2. Dwyane Wade (CHI) 514,866
3. DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 453,538
4. Isaiah Thomas (BOS) 401,671
5. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 256,668
6. Derrick Rose (NY) 223,804
7. John Wall (WAS) 173,148
8. Jeremy Lin (BKN) 109,088
9. Kemba Walker (CHA) 105,637
10. Avery Bradley (BOS) 64,157

Frontcourt
1. Kevin Durant (GS) 987,479
2. Zaza Pachulia (GS) 823,376
3. Kawhi Leonard (SA) 630,766
4. Anthony Davis (NO) 567,201
5. Draymond Green (GS) 464,319
6. DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) 379,225
7. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 223,979
8. LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) 192,784
9. Blake Griffin (LAC) 172,393
10. Marc Gasol (MEM) 172,146

Guards
1. Stephen Curry (GS) 990,390
2. James Harden (HOU) 961,685
3. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 899,024
4. Klay Thompson (GS) 555,430
5. Chris Paul (LAC) 379,076
6. Damian Lillard (POR) 208,171
7. Eric Gordon (HOU) 191,407
8. Andre Iguodala (GS) 130,224
9. Manu Ginobili (SA) 122,333
10. Zach LaVine (MIN) 94,867

After all votes are tallied, players will be 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 will be 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 will be named NBA All-Star Game starters. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.

george-eighth-in-frontcourt-in-second-fan-returns-for-2017-all-star-voting

George Eighth in Frontcourt in Second Fan Returns for 2017 All-Star Voting

NEW YORK – LeBron James and Kyrie Irving of the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers are the top two vote-getters overall, while Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors lead all Western Conference players in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon.

The first week of fan voting for the 66th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, produced close races in both conferences and generated 138% more votes cast (11,174,153) than during the same time period last year (4,693,433).

James, a 12-time All-Star, received 595,288 votes to earn the top spot among all players.  Joining James at the top of the Eastern Conference frontcourt are the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (500,663) and Cleveland’s Kevin Love (250,347), with rookie Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (221,984) next on the list.  Irving (543,030) and 12-time All-Star Dwyane Wade of the Chicago Bulls (278,052) lead the East guards, followed by the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan (253,340).

Durant, who owns the highest scoring average in All-Star Game history (25.6 ppg), paces all West players with 541,209 votes.  He is followed in the West frontcourt by Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia (439,675) and the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (341,240), who edges the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis (318,144).  Curry (523,597) narrowly tops a tight race among West guards, with the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (519,446) edging two-time reigning All-Star Game MVP Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder (501,652) for second place.

For the first time ever, NBA players and basketball media will join fans in selecting the starters for the NBA All-Star Game.  Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each.  Player and media voting will begin next week, with each participant completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from both conferences.

After all votes are tallied, players will be 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 will be 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 will be named NBA All-Star Game starters.  Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.

See below for the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon.

Frontcourt
1.          LeBron James (CLE) 595,288
2.         Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 500,663
3.          Kevin Love (CLE) 250,347
4.          Joel Embiid (PHI) 221,984
5.          Carmelo Anthony (NY) 189,817
6.          Jimmy Butler (CHI) 189,066
7.          Kristaps Porzingis (NY) 184,166
8.          Paul George (IND) 138,332
9.          Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 72,628
10.        Jabari Parker (MIL) 64,141

Guards
1.          Kyrie Irving (CLE) 543,030
2.          Dwyane Wade (CHI) 278,052
3.          DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 253,340
4.          Isaiah Thomas (BOS) 193,297
5.          Derrick Rose (NY) 129,924
6.          Kyle Lowry (TOR) 128,940
7.          John Wall (WAS) 87,360
8.          Jeremy Lin (BKN) 59,562
9.          Kemba Walker (CHA) 52,122
10.        Avery Bradley (BOS) 32,822

Frontcourt
1.          Kevin Durant (GS) 541,209
2.          Zaza Pachulia (GS) 439,675
3.          Kawhi Leonard (SA) 341,240
4.          Anthony Davis (NO) 318,144
5.          Draymond Green (GS) 236,315
6.          DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) 202,317
7.          Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 125,278
8.          LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) 101,724
9.          Blake Griffin (LAC) 100,524
10.        Marc Gasol (MEM) 97,370

Guards
1.          Stephen Curry (GS) 523,597
2.          James Harden (HOU) 519,446
3.          Russell Westbrook (OKC) 501,652
4.          Klay Thompson (GS) 293,054
5.          Chris Paul (LAC) 173,830
6.          Damian Lillard (POR) 117,857
7.          Eric Gordon (HOU) 76,609
8.          Manu Ginobili (SA) 65,832
9.          Andre Iguodala (GS) 64,247
10.        Zach LaVine (MIN) 53,642

All‑Star 2017

Glenn Robinson III to Compete in Slam Dunk Contest

Paul George Named to All-Star Team as Eastern Conference Reserve

Myles Turner to Play in Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend

George Finishes Seventh in All-Star Voting

George Eighth in Frontcourt in Second Fan Returns for 2017 All-Star Voting

George Eighth in First Fan Returns for 2017 All-Star Voting