Three members of the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks – Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague – headline the list of 14 players selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, the NBA announced on Thursday.
Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors earned his first All-Star selection, joining teammate and starter Stephen Curry to give the Western Conference-leading Warriors two All-Stars for the first time since Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway in 1993.
The 64th NBA All-Star Game will tip off Sunday, February 15, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The game will be seen by fans in 215 countries and territories and will be heard in 47 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 13th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 30th year of NBA All-Star coverage.
The Hawks’ trio is joined in the East by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving.
This is the 11th consecutive All-Star selection for Wade and the 10th straight nod for Bosh, who becomes only the third player in NBA history to earn five trips to the All-Star Game with two different teams (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett). Butler, who leads the NBA in minutes (39.5 per game) and has raised his scoring average from 13.1 points in 2013-14 to 20.1 points this season, makes his first All-Star appearance. Irving, the MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game, is an All-Star for the third time in four NBA seasons.
Horford, Millsap and Teague comprise the first trio of All-Stars for the Hawks since John Drew, Eddie Johnson and Dan Roundfield in 1980. For Horford, it’s his third All-Star berth and first since 2011. Millsap, the only player in the East averaging at least 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals, will play in his second consecutive All-Star Game. Teague, who is averaging career highs in points (17.0) and assists (7.5), is a first-time All-Star in his sixth NBA season.
Joining Thompson as reserves in the West are LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder), James Harden (Houston Rockets) and Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers).
Aldridge, who is averaging a career-high 23.6 points, is an All-Star for the fourth time. It’s the 15th All-Star nod for Duncan, who joins Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal with the third-most selections in history behind Abdul-Jabbar (19) and Kobe Bryant (17). Durant, the all-time leader in All-Star Game scoring average (30.6), secured his sixth All-Star selection.
Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer (27.3 ppg), makes his third consecutive trip to the All-Star Game since joining the Rockets in 2012. Paul, the only player in the NBA averaging at least 17.0 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals, earned his eighth All-Star selection. Westbrook, who is averaging career highs in points (25.2) and rebounds (5.9), was named an All-Star for the fourth time.
Selected to start in the East – through NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 presented by Sprint – were John Wall (Washington Wizards), Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors), LeBron James (Cavaliers), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) and Pau Gasol (Bulls). Voted to start in the West were Curry (Warriors), Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), Blake Griffin (Clippers) and Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies).
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game. If the injured player is a starter, the head coach of that team will determine who replaces him in the starting line-up.
The 14 reserves were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences – two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
The East and West All-Star coaches and coaching staffs were determined by the best record in the conference through games played on Sunday, February 1. Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach the East and Golden State’s Steve Kerr and his staff will lead the West.
NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City 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 All-Star Game, TNT will also air the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, February 13, and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, February 14.
The BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and State Farm All-Star Saturday night will take place at Barclays Centre in Brooklyn. Other events at Barclays Centre include the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA Development League Dream Factory presented by Boost Mobile on Sunday, February 15, airing on NBA TV.
2015 EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
7 *Carmelo Anthony (New York)
1 Chris Bosh (Miami)
21 #Jimmy Butler (Chicago)
16 *Pau Gasol (Chicago)
15 Al Horford (Atlanta)
2 Kyrie Irving (Cleveland)
23 *LeBron James (Cleveland)
7 *#Kyle Lowry (Toronto)
4 Paul Millsap (Atlanta)
0 #Jeff Teague (Atlanta)
3 Dwyane Wade (Miami)
2 *John Wall (Washington)
Head Coach: Mike Budenholzer (Pomona)
Assistant Coaches: Kenny Atkinson (Richmond); Darvin Ham (Texas Tech); Taylor Jenkins (Pennsylvania); Neven Spahija (Croatia); Charles Lee (Bucknell); Ben Sullivan (Portland)
Athletic Trainer: Roger Hinds (New York)
2015 WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
12 LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland)
24 *Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)
30 *Stephen Curry (Golden State)
23 *Anthony Davis (New Orleans)
21 Tim Duncan (San Antonio)
35 Kevin Durant (OKC)
33 *Marc Gasol (Memphis)
32 *Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers)
13 James Harden (Houston)
3 Chris Paul (L.A. Clippers)
11 #Klay Thompson (Golden State)
0 Russell Westbrook (OKC)
Head Coach: Steve Kerr (Arizona)
Assistant Coaches: Alvin Gentry (Appalachian State); Ron Adams (Fresno Pacific); Luke Walton (Arizona)
Athletic Trainer: Pete Youngman (Sacramento)
