How does the 2023 NBA All

One of the most anticipated events in the basketball world is about to begin: the 2023 NBA All-Star Game is very close. Great entertainment is also to be expected in this edition, with a weekend in which some of the greatest players of the most famous professional basketball league in the world will take the field. Let’s go to the discovery of this event, trying to understand how it works, who is called up, and the records that have characterized it up to now.

NBA All-Star Game 2023: What are they and how do they work?

The NBA All-Star Game is a very popular basketball event in the USA and beyond. It is a weekend, held every year, characterized by a series of great competitions such as the Slam Dunk Contest (the dunk contest), the Three-Point Shootout (the three-point shooting contest), and the challenge between two great selections (until 2017 between the Western Conference and Eastern Conference). This last game, which takes place on Sunday, is naturally the most anticipated of all because the best players in the entire NBA take to the field every time.

The choice of basketball players who participate in the All-Star Game is very particular and takes place thanks to two selectors: the fans and the coaches. The former, thanks to the official NBA website, vote during the regular season for the best players they would like to see on the field during the event. In this way, the starting five is chosen, taking into account the roles that will have to be occupied on the pitch and choosing between two categories of players: the frontcourt players and the backcourt players. The coaches, on the other hand, will call up the reserves to complete the squad selection.

The division of the teams, until 2017, was between the two conferences, but since the following edition, some things have changed. Now, based on the votes of the fans, two captains are selected to be in charge of choosing the two teams before the match, based on the votes of the fans and the lists of the two conferences (in this way, mixed teams can be formed). They are, therefore, the players who make up the final formation and who give the name to the team that will take the field (the first edition was a match between Team LeBron and Team Curry). At the conclusion of the game, the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award will be voted on, which has been held by the legendary Kobe Bryant since 2020.

NBA All-Star Game 2023: the squad

So who are the players called up to the 2023 NBA All-Star Game? After a long wait, the lists with all the players who will be divided into the two teams led by LeBron James and Gianni Antetokounmpo have been issued. The coaches will instead be Joe Mazzulla (Boston Celtics) for the formation of the Greek basketball player and Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets) for that of the American.

Let’s see below which basketball players were selected by the Eastern Conference:

Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)
Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls)
Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks)
Julius Randle (New York Knicks)
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
Giannis Antetokoumpo, captain (Milwaukee Bucks)
Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks)
Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)
Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)

Here are all the players from the Western Conference:

Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)
Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings)
Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)
Jaren Jackson (Memphis Grizzlies)
LeBron James, captain (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)

NBA All-Star Game stats and records

The last five NBA All-Star Games have been won by Team LeBron, who defeated Team Stephen once, Team Giannis twice, and then Team Durant twice more. On the other hand, the MVP record for the event belongs to both Kobe Bryant and Bob Pettit, both of whom have received four awards in total. The record holder for the most points scored in this event belongs to The Chosen One, LeBron James (413), who is very close to reaching and also obtaining the NBA points record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.