Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan was named a starter for the NBA all-star game on Thursday for a second straight year.
It will be DeRozan’s fourth appearance at an all-star game. He started for the East team in 2017 and was named a reserve for the 2014 and 2016 games.
The 28-year-old DeRozan is averaging a team-high 25.2 points per game for the Raptors this season.
DeRozan scored a single-game franchise-record 52 points earlier this season in an overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Joining him in the East’s backcourt will be Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving. The frontcourt starters are the Cavaliers’ LeBron James, the Bucks’ Giannis Antentokounmpo and the 76ers’ Joel Embiid.
In the West, the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and the Rockets’ James Harden are the starters in the backcourt. They will be joined by Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins of the Pelicans, and the Warriors’ Kevin Durant.
Fans received 50 per cent of the all-star vote, with media and players each comprising a quarter of the vote.
As leading vote-getters, LeBron James and Stephen Curry will be team captains in the new draft format.
