Kobe Bryant selected for his 18th NBA All-Star game

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant, left, talks with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich prior to an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in Los Angeles.

The Spurs are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games in Los Angeles and are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games versus the Lakers overall.

Starting alongside Bryant (1,891,614) in the star studded event are reigning MVP Steph Curry (1,604,325) of the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder’s dynamic duo Russell Westbrook (772,009) and Kevin Durant (980,787), and the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (782,339).

The Eastern Conference starters are LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.

Wade starts at guard with Lowry, who overcame a 32,000-vote deficit to Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving. Now, as Bryant’s career comes to an end, there are indications that the 81-point game sneaker will be re-released.

Bryant did not make only one All-Star game in his 20-year career – as a rookie in 1996.

Bryant is a four-time MVP and the leading scorer (280 points) in All-Star Game history. As bad as he’s been from behind the arc so far this season, he may be getting his shot back at the ideal time as the second half of the Spurs’ season schedule will be noticeably more hard than the first. He plays hard every night.

By failing to be named a starter for the West on Thursday, Davis can no longer qualify by virtue of having multiple All-Star starter selections.

“I had pepperoni pizza and grape soda the night before”, he said with a laugh.

Click through the gallery to check out some of Bryant’s best All-Star Game sneaker moments.

“I look forward to hopefully being healthy and going out there and playing well”, said Bryant, a four-time All-Star MVP (2002, ’07, ’09 and ’11). This may be the most anticipated regular season Spurs game of my (21 year) lifetime.

Including Portland, Bryant only has 13 more occasions where he will bid farewell to a city one last time, and Portland played a valuable role in Bryant’s early success.