Mavs guard Luka Doncic selected to start in NBA All-Star game for 4th time
DALLAS – For the fourth time, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been named a starter for the NBA All-Star game. This is his fifth time to play in an All-Star game.
Doncic, 24, joins the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Isiah Thomas and Anthony Davis as the only players to earn five All-Star nods before their 25th birthday.
Other starters this season include Giannis Antetokounmpo (captain), Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum in the east and LeBron James (captain), Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic in the west. Doncic will be playing for the west.
Doncic has passed Rolando Blackman for the second-most All-Star selections in Mavericks history – Blackman has been selected a total of four times.
Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki is the only other Mav to have at least five consecutive All-Star bids – he holds the franchise's record for most All-Star appearances, having been nominated 14 times. He appeared in All-Star games for 11 straight, between 2002 and 2012.
The All-Star starters are selected through a formula where fan voting counts for 50%, voting by players themselves counts for 25% and voting by a panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA counts for the other 25%.
The NBA All-Star game takes place in Indianapolis on Feb. 18.