Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is an All-Star for the 18th time. Fans overwhelmingly chose Bryant to be an All-Star starter, voting for him almost 1.9 million times, the most among all players.
Bryant will start alongside Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Thunder swingman Kevin Durant and San Antonio Spurs wing Kawhi Leonard.
“It’ll be a special All-Star because this is Kobe’s last run,” Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat said according to ESPN.com.
Durant and Westbrook are All-Stars together for the fifth time, breaking a tie with Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp for most appearances by Thunder/SuperSonics teammates. Durant has scored more than 30 points in four straight All-Star Games, and Westbrook was MVP of the 2015 game.
Curry, the reigning NBA MVP, received the second-most votes with 1.6 million and will make his third straight All-Star start.
Information from Espn.com contributed to this report.
