Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Violence widens ahead of Greek austerity vote

Yao, Kobe, LeBron head NBA All-Stars

Ming edges Bryant as top votegetter; Shaq on team for 13th straight year

Image: Yao MingAP file
Yao Ming edged Kobe Bryant as the top votegetter for the NBA All-Star game.

Nash, meanwhile, is a first-time starter after improving the numbers that earned him MVP honors a year ago. Nash is averaging a career-high 19.1 points and an NBA-leading 11.3 assists this season, the first player since Magic Johnson in 1990-91 to average as much in both categories.

He finished with 1,818,230 votes for the second Western guard spot behind Bryant. McGrady had 1,818,932 votes to lead the West’s forwards, while Duncan had 1,518,796 — 39,410 more than Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett, who was a starter seven times in his first eight All-Star trips.

Detroit’s Flip Saunders will coach the East and Dallas’ Avery Johnson will coach the West on Feb. 19 in Houston. The All-Star reserves will be announced Feb. 9.

James got 2,207,697 votes — about 1 million more than Jermaine O’Neal for the other forward spot on the East roster. And although James said there may be a time when his excitement level over the All-Star Game dips a bit, he thanked the fans for their backing.

“Without them, there’s no us,” James said.

Iverson had 2,062,206 votes and Wade had 1,499,664 for the guard slots, and Shaquille O’Neal had 2,192,542 to easily outdistance Detroit’s Ben Wallace for the center spot.

Slide show
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

“It’s an honor. It’s tough enough to make an All-Star team,” said Iverson, last season’s All-Star MVP. “When you’re a starter it says a lot about being one of the faces of the NBA because the fans pick you.”

Since entering the league, Shaquille O’Neal has been chosen as an All-Star every season. Jerry West, Karl Malone, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek are the only other players to earn at least 13 consecutive All-Star spots. West and Malone did it 14 times.

“Each time I’m selected as an All-Star, it’s more special than the year before,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “It shows I can compete at a high level on a consistent basis year in and year out. ... Hopefully, I will see a few more as my career moves on.”

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


< Prev | 1 | 2

advertisement
  ProBasketballTalk tweets

  1. Loading the latest posts…

Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk.

Video: NBA from NBC Sports
Lin on on 'Linsanity'
Knicks guard Jeremy Lin discusses the hype surrounding his recent rise in New York.

Slideshow
Washington Wizards v Charlotte Bobcats
  Get your cheer on
Check out some of the dancers from the NBA.

more photos

  Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman

Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag.

Special feature
Image: LeBron James
Who will be MVP?
Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration).

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Image: Blake Griffin
  NBA All-Star starters
A look at the starting lineups for the East and West teams.

more photos