James, Curry named captains as All-Star starters are revealed

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry lead the list of 10 players selected by fans, NBA players and media to start in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles next month.

James and Curry will serve as team captains after finishing as the All-Star starter from each conference who received the most fan votes in his conference.

Under the new All-Star Game format that replaces the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, James and Curry will choose the team rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves.

The All-Star teams will still feature 12 players from each conference, but the captains will select the team rosters without regard for conference affiliation. Each captain's first four selections must come from the pool of eight remaining starters. As the top overall finisher in fan voting, James will make the first pick.

In addition to James, who has been named an All-Star for the 14th consecutive year, the starters from the East player pool are the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan, the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid and the Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving.

Joining Curry as starters from the West player pool are the New Orleans Pelicans' DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, the Warriors' Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets' James Harden.

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. James (2,638,294 fan votes) edged Antetokounmpo (2,530,211) as the top overall vote-getter among fans, while Curry (2,379,494) led the West.