The NBA announced Thursday guard Kyle Lowry has been voted by the fans as a starter to the Eastern Conference team for the 2016 All-Star Game. Lowry will participate in his second consecutive NBA All-Star Weekend as a starter after finishing second among East guards with 646,441 votes. He collected 805,290 votes last season, second for East guards.
Lowry is the third Raptor to be elected a starter, joining Vince Carter (2000-04) and Chris Bosh (2007-08). 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).
“It is an honour to be voted as a starter for the All-Star Game, especially for one in my home arena,” said Lowry. “I am thankful to all the great Raptors fans across Canada and throughout the NBA.”
Lowry is averaging career highs in points (20.9), rebounds (5.0) and steals (2.29) through 42 games. He ranks first in the Eastern Conference and second in the NBA in steals per game. He has three games of 30 or more points, including a career-high 41 points December 5 versus Golden State. He is shooting a career-best .383 from three-point range and is second in the Eastern Conference in three-point field goals made with 115.
A product of Villanova in his 10th season, Lowry was selected 24th overall by Memphis in the 2006 NBA Draft. He was dealt by the Grizzlies to Houston on February 19, 2009. Toronto acquired Lowry from the Rockets on July 11, 2012. In July 2015, Lowry signed a multi-year contract with the Raptors. He owns career averages of 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 29.9 minutes in 618 games.
The 65th NBA All-Star Game will tip off on Sunday, February 14 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the first All-Star Game to be held outside of the United States. The game will be seen by fans in more than 200 countries and territories and will be heard in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game in the U.S. for the 14th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 31st year of NBA All-Star coverage.
Sportsnet and TSN television networks will simulcast NBA All-Star 2016 broadcasts in Canada, in association with Turner Sports’ exclusive coverage on TNT in the U.S. This marks the first time the two Canadian networks will simulcast NBA All-Star events domestically.
NBA All-Star Voting 2016 presented by Verizon is an all-digital program that gave fans everywhere the opportunity to vote for their favorite players as starters for the All-Star Game. New to the voting program this year, fans were able to cast their daily votes directly through Google Search on their desktop, tablet and mobile devices. They also voted on NBA.com, through the NBA App (available on Android and iOS), SMS text and social media networks including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as via Sina Weibo and Tencent Microblogs in China.
The NBA’s 30 head coaches will select the reserves for the 2016 All-Star Game. They must vote for seven players within their conference: two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at either position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team.
All-Star Game reserves will be revealed live on TNT on Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m. ET, before the network’s doubleheader featuring the Raptors hosting the Knicks at 8 p.m. and the Bulls visiting the Lakers at 10:30 p.m. 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.
NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto 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 NBA All-Star Game, the Air Canada Centre will also host the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, February 12 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, February 13. Other events at NBA All-Star 2016 include the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire.
The starting lineups for the NBA All-Star Game and the final returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2016 presented by Verizon are below:
Western Conference:
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers Stephen Curry, Golden State Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City
Eastern Conference
Carmelo Anthony, New York Paul George, Indiana LeBron James, ClevelandKyle Lowry, Toronto Dwyane Wade, Miami