LeBron, Giannis will captain All-Star teams

LeBron James was announced Thursday as an NBA All-Star for the 19th time, tying fellow Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history. James — the leading overall vote-getter — will be the captain of one of the teams for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, while Eastern Conference voting leader Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks will captain the other side.

James and Antetokounmpo will pick their teams shortly before tipoff of the game in Salt Lake City.

The other eight starters: the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, Nets teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell and Pelicans’ Zion Williamson.

Starters — three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference — were selected by a combination of three different votes: fan balloting counted for 50%, media balloting was worth 25% and voting by the players made up the final 25%.

The reserves, which are chosen by votes from the league’s coaches, will be announced Feb. 2.

Damian Lillard, a likely selection as an All-Star reserve, had a 60 points, hitting nine 3s, and the Trail Blazers beat the visiting Jazz 134-124 on Wednesday. Lillard tied for the second-most points in the NBA this season. Mitchell had 71 in an OT game for the Cavaliers against the Bulls on Jan. 3, and Doncic scored 60 in the Mavericks’ OT victory over the Knicks on Dec. 27.

Golf: Sam Ryder shot a second-round 4-under 68 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego. The PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines concludes Saturday.

NFL: The Jets hired former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator. Hackett, 43, was fired by the Broncos on Dec. 26 with a 4-11 record in his first season.