Australian Josh Giddey has taken a big leap in his second season in the NBA and if you needed any proof of it, the results from the All-Star voting have landed.
Giddey (13) had the second-most votes among sophomore players with Cleveland’s Evan Mobley polling 17.
Of course, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, has been injured since November, but nevertheless the voting is further proof of Giddey’s rising profile in the league.
Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Fri, 27 Jan
Friday January 27th
Oklahoma City took Giddey with the sixth overall pick and while it was considered by some to be a reach at the time, the Australian proved them wrong in a sensational rookie campaign.
Giddey has only taken his game to another level in his sophomore season, improving his 3-point shooting and overall confidence as a scorer to average 16 points per game.
Giddey’s teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has also enjoyed a much-improved 2022-23 season, although he missed out on a starting spot in the All-Star game, much to the Australian’s displeasure.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo will captain the teams next month after final voting that saw Philadelphia star Joel Embiid fail to earn a starting spot.
James will tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — the man he is on track to overtake as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer — for most All-Star Game appearances with 19.
The four-time NBA champion, who is averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists this season, has now served as a captain — as the top vote-getter from his conference — in each of the six years that the league has used the format of captains selecting their teams from among all the available players.
Ben fouls Embiid, cops boos in Philly 00:26
Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, will be a captain for the third time in his career, having led a team in 2019 and 2020.
Joining James among starters selected from the Western Conference are New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
The other starters from the East are Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and teammate Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the vote, with voting among NBA players and a media panel each accounting for 25 percent of the vote.
Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP, will be playing in a fifth straight All-Star Game. He’s averaging 25.1 points, 11 rebounds and 9.9 assists for Denver, who leads the Western Conference.
Williamson is averaging 26 points, seven rebounds and 4.6 assists for New Orleans, but he has been sidelined by a hamstring injury since January 2.
Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Curry ejected after blowing up at Poole! | 00:43
Durant earned a 13th straight All-Star nod, but it’s not clear if he’ll be available for the game in Salt Lake City on February 19. He hasn’t played since spraining a knee ligament on January 8 and could miss the midseason exhibition for a third straight year.
Irving, meanwhile, has made an eighth All-Star team while Tatum will play in his fourth — his first as an elected starter.
Mitchell will also be making his first start, and it will come in the home of the Utah Jazz team that traded him to Cleveland in September.
The All-Star reserves, who are selected by NBA coaches, will be announced next week and the captains will select their teams shortly before the game starts.
That’s a change from recent years, when the draft was conducted virtually in the lead-up to All-Star Weekend.
Joining Embiid among the marquee names who missed out on starting berths were Memphis’ Ja Morant, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Philadelphia’s James Harden and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis — although any of them could still be selected as reserves.
.