NBA’s new All-Star rule has captains name rosters live before tip-off

The NBA announced a new format for the 2023 All-Star Game selection on Tuesday night. The new rule will appoint the two players with the most votes from each Western and Eastern conference as captains. Then, they will select their rosters in a live broadcast on February 19.

With this new format, captains and players will not know whether or not they make the All-Star game. That is until the captains are voted on and name their players right before the tip-off at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. This makes the 2023 All-Star the first in NBA history with live player selections.

NBA

2023-01-25 00:08

The @NBA and @TheNBPA announced today that TNT will air the 2023 NBA All-Star Draft as a new, live pregame segment at the 2023 #NBAAllStar Game on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 pm ET from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. https://t.co/SuEw4mvfEE

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“The two team captains will draft the team rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference,” the NBA explained in a release. “The captain will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference.”

Based on provisional voting, the strongest nominees for team captains are Los Angeles Lakers SF LeBron James (Western Conference) and Milwaukee Bucks SF Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brooklyn Nets SF Kevin Durant (Eastern Conference).

James has captained the Western Conference five times and is currently on a 5-0 winning streak. On the other hand, the Eastern Conference was captained by Durant in 2022 and 2021 and Antetokounmpo in 2019 and 2020.

West vs. East highest-voted players

In the West, several NBA stars sat behind James in votes for frontcourt players. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and Lakers center forward Anthony Davis are the second and third players with the most votes. Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks Luka Dončić received the most votes for backcourt players.

In the East, Boston Celtics SF Jayson Tatum gets the most votes for frontcourt players after Durant and Antetokounmpo. Meanwhile, in the backcourts, Nets veteran PG Kyrie Irving and Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell are the two top-voted players.