For the second consecutive season, Jayson Tatum has been voted a starter for the NBA All-Star game.
The 25-year-old has made four total starts in the ceremonial exhibition, filling in as an injury replacement for Kevin Durant in both 2021 and 2022. However, this season marks the second time he has been voted in based on his own merit.
Tatum joins Giannis Antetokounmpo (Captain), Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard as Eastern Conference starters. LeBron James (Captain), Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were named the starters for the West. The game will take place on February 18 in Indianapolis.
The highest fan vote-getter in each conference was named captain of their team.
This is Tatum’s fifth All-Star selection, earning the honors in each of the last five seasons. The former Duke Blue Devil was named All-Star game MVP last year after setting a new record for most points in an All-Star game, dropping 55 points on 22-of-31 (70.9%) shooting from the field and 10-of-18 (55.5%) from deep. The All-NBA wing also corralled nine rebounds and dished out six assists.
Growing up idolizing Kobe Bryant and having trained with the Lakers legend early in his professional career, Tatum was honored with the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP trophy after the game.
Tatum is averaging 27.0 points per game (9th most) this season on 46.9% shooting. The 6-foot-8 wing is also dishing out 4.4 assists and snagging 8.4 rebounds. He is one of just six players averaging at least 25 points and eight rebounds, guiding the Celtics to a league-best
Fans accounted for 50% of the vote, with players and a media panel making up 25% apiece. Tatum finished second in fan voting, third in player voting, and third in coaches voting.
As for the rest of Boston’s starting five, their fate will be decided on February 1 when the seven reserves from each conference are announced, as selected by the NBA head coaches. Notably, Jaylen Brown finished fourth among players in frontcourt voting.
With the Celtics possessing the best record in the Eastern Conference, Joe Mazzulla and his staff would be in line to represent the Eastern Conference as coaches for the second consecutive season. However, due to the “Riley Rule,” if the leading coaching staff coached the previous All-Star game, then the second-place coaching staff is selected. Ironically, that would be Doc Rivers, who was hired on Wednesday.
The 2024 All-Star Game will bring back the classic Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format, featuring a traditional scoring system and four 12-minute quarters. This change marks the end of the All-Star draft format used in the past six seasons.
Related
