Voting positions Durant to be an All-Star captain

HOUSTON — Warriors forward Kevin Durant is on track to become a team captain in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, which would force him to make a tricky decision: Who does he select to join his squad?

Under the league’s new AllStar Game format, the player from each conference who receives the most fan votes will choose rosters from a pool of players voted as starters and reserves. With 767,402 votes, Durant was the Western Conference’s leading vote-getter in the first fan returns announced Thursday.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry, with 735,115 votes, was a close second. Those two are on pace to be named starters, with teammates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson still within striking distance. Green (325,612) is fourth among West frontcourt players, one spot out of a starting job. Thompson (359,442) is fourth among West guards, two slots out of a starting spot.

For the second straight year, NBA players and basketball media will join fans in selecting the All-Star Game starters. Fans will comprise 50 percent of the vote, with players and a media panel accounting for 25 percent each.

TNT will announce the AllStar Game starters, including the two captains, on Jan. 18. The network will reveal the reserves, selected by NBA head coaches, on Jan. 23. Team rosters will be announced Jan. 25. Durant’s donation: Durant is donating $3 million to the University of Texas, the school announced.

Approximately $2.5 million is going to Longhorns basketball, and $500,000 is going toward Texas’ Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation. It is the largest donation by a former student-athlete in school history and among the largest gifts ever by any professional athlete to his alma mater.

In honor of Durant, Texas is renaming its men’s basketball facilities “The Kevin Durant Basketball Facility for Men.” The main entrance to Denton A. Cooley Pavilion, the Longhorns’ practice and training facility, will be named “The Kevin Durant Basketball Center.”

“My time as a Longhorn helped build the foundation for who I am today as a player and a person, and the UT team will always be my family,” Durant said in a news release. “It’s important to me to continue to give back to The University and ensure that future studentathletes have all the opportunities they need to succeed. It’s an honor to have such a close and unique relationship with Texas Basketball, and I’m grateful to be able to contribute.”

During his lone season at Texas in 2006-07, Durant was named consensus National Player of the Year after guiding a young Longhorns team to a 25-10 record.