Kawhi Leonard voted as NBA All-Star Starter

As for Bryant, the overwhelming response by fans in his final All-Star Game is meaningful to him.

Kobe will be joined by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard. Wade starts at guard with Lowry, who overcame a 32,000-vote deficit to Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving.

Dwyane Wade, named an all-star for the 12th time in 13 seasons, was the top Eastern vote-getter among guards with 941,466.

At any rate, an average LeBron is still pretty wonderful – he’s at 25.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 6.0 apg for a Cleveland Cavaliers squad that looks set to sprint through the Eastern Conference for the second season in a row.

Joining James in the frontcourt were Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (711,595) and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (567,348).

Anthony started the contest but had season-ending knee surgery shortly thereafter, while George missed most of last season recovering from a broken leg. Anthony edged Chicago’s Pau Gasol – a starter previous year – by just 360 votes for the final starting spot in the East front court. The All-Star Game tips off on Sunday, Feb. 14 in Toronto. “It’s not exactly the way you want to have a team win a game”, the Zen Master said exactly 10 years to this day.

Bryant’s huge night on January 22, 2006 came at the expense of the Toronto Raptors and then head coach Sam Mitchell – now on the bench in Minnesota with the Timberwolves. Bryant was followed in the West frontcourt voting by Durant (980 787) and Leonard (782 339). He’s not anywhere close to the Kobe we’re all accustomed to (this season, he’s averaging just 16.3 points per game on just under 35 percent shooting) but to his credit, that can be considered a great stat-line due to his age.

San Antonio’s Leonard, in the middle of his best season to date and garnering MVP consideration behind Curry, bested Warriors forward Draymond Green at the last second after falling behind him by more than 12,000 votes. And the Lakers star has never forgotten that time. Player edition kicks are usually produced in such limited numbers that they become some of the most highly coveted collectors items in the world, routinely going for thousands of dollars. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. However, injuries have sidelined him from some All-Star Games for which he was selected. New to the voting program this year, fans were able to cast their daily votes directly through Google Search on their desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

Again, it’s hard to argue with numerous selections, but there were certainly a number of players that fell victim to the trials of the fan vote. But when Bryant plays his final game in Portland on Saturday it will still be a meaningful moment for many current Blazers.

For Lowry, the second all-star starting berth continues a steady career progression and is a reward for two seasons of success in Toronto. Other events at NBA All-Star 2016 include the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire.