Dallas Basketball

Mavs’ Luka Doncic Named NBA All-Star Starter, Joins LeBron James, Steph Curry

Luka Doncic earned his fourth-consecutive All-Star game appearance and jumped back into the starting lineup.

Bri Amaranthus

DALLAS - Luka Doncic will start in the 2023 All-Star Game, the NBA announced Thursday night on TNT. The Dallas Mavericks superstar joins Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry as the Western Conference top guards.

Doncic earned his fourth-consecutive All-Star game appearance and jumped back into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the 2022 All-Star Game. Captains this year are LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will select their respective teams on the court before the All-Star game begins next month. 

Doncic received the second-most votes among Western Conference guards, trailing only Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry and edging out Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant for the second starting spot.

Doncic consistently makes ridiculous shot look easy and pumps out insane numbers on offense. Doncic started the season as the favorite to win his first league MVP. The 23-year-old now has the second-best odds (+430) behind Nikola Jokic. Expect a highly-entertaining Doncic show in the midst of his best NBA season. 

Dallas' all-time leader in triple-doubles (56), Doncic is fresh off earning NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for December. Doncic averaged 35.1 points , 8.5 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 1.6 steals, marking the highest-scoring month in franchise history.

In his first three All-Star games, Doncic has been on Team Lebron, which has been the victor in all three games. Doncic is no stranger to making history: The Slovenian (20 years, 353 days) became the youngest European-born player to start an All-Star Game in 2020 in Chicago.

The team captains were determined as the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference. Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote, while current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each.

All-Star Weekend returns to Salt Lake City for the first time in 30 years when Utah first hosted the event in 1993. The celebrity game and Rising Stars Challenge tips off the weekend on Friday, Feb. 17, with the All-Star game on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Vivint Arena.

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Bri Amaranthus
BRI AMARANTHUS

Emmy-Winning digital reporter

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