Westbrook snubbed for Curry, Harden in voting
>> NEW YORK: Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, averaging a triple double, was snubbed for a Western Conference starting spot in next month’s NBA All-Star Game in voting announced on Thursday by the league.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to last season’s NBA title, were named to the Eastern Conference starting five while Golden State teammates Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were voted onto the Western Conference opening line-up.
The 66th NBA All-Star Game will be played Feb 19 at New Orleans. A revamped selection format took 50 percent from fan voting, which concluded on Monday, and 25 percent each from player and media ballots.
Out of more than 38 million fan votes James was the overall winner with 1.89 million votes, while Curry had 1.84 million, Durant 1.77 million and Irving 1.69 million.
Thunder guard Westbrook leads the NBA with 30.6 points a game, ranks second with 10.4 assists a game and pulls down 10.6 rebounds a contest as he tries to become only the second player to average a triple double for an entire campaign after Oscar Robertson in the 1961-62 season.
But the West starting backcourt will be three-point Warriors sharpshooter Curry and Houston’s James Harden, who ranks second in NBA scoring with 28.9 points a game and leads the NBA with 11.6 assists a contest.
Westbrook was level with Curry and Harden in the weighted point totals but lost out based on fan ballot totals that served as the tie-breaker.
Joining Westbrook’s former Thunder teammate Durant in the starting West frontcourt will be San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard and New Orleans centre Anthony Davis.
In the Eastern Conference, forward James and guard Irving will be joined by Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Milwaukee centre Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece — the first Bucks All-Star starter since 1986.
James is the all-time top All-Star scorer with 291 points. He will make his 13th consecutive All-Star start in 14 NBA seasons. Only Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have started more.
Durant, an eight-time All-Star selection, has the best All-Star Game scoring average at 25.6 points.
Harden makes his fifth All-Star appearance while Curry, the two-time reigning NBA MVP, and Davis are in the All-Star Game for the fourth time and Leonard, the two-time reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, starts for the second year in a row.
All-Star reserve players, selected by NBA coaches and almost certain to include Westbrook, will be announced on Jan 26.