2021 — Domantas Sabonis, Indiana 2020 — Bam Adebayo, Miami 2019 — Jayson Tatum, Boston 2018 — Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn 2017 — Kristaps Porzingis, New York 2016 — Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota 2015 — Patrick Beverley, Houston 2014 — Trey Burke, Utah; Damian Lillard, Portland-x 2013 — Damian Lillard, Portland 2012 — Tony Parker, San Antonio 2011 — Stephen Curry, Golden State 2010 — Steve Nash, Phoenix 2009 — Derrick Rose, Chicago 2008 — Deron Williams, Utah 2007 — Dwyane Wade, Miami 2006 — Dwyane Wade, Miami 2005 — Steve Nash, Phoenix 2004 — Baron Davis, New Orleans 2003 — Jason Kidd, New Jersey Note: x-format changed to a two-man relay.

LeBron James has faced Giannis Antetokounmpo as an opponent in the last three All-Star Games. The Los Angeles Lakers' star got him as a teammate this year. James used the No. 1 overall pick on Antetokounmpo — the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP from Milwaukee — in the draft for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. Kevin Durant, who will not play in the All-Star Game because of injury but still is the captain for Team Durant, took Brooklyn teammate Kyrie Irving with his first pick. The other starters for Team LeBron will be Stephen Curry of Golden State, Luka Doncic of Dallas and Nikola Jokic of Denver. The other starters for Team Durant will be Joel Embiid of Philadelphia, 2020 All-Star MVP Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Bradley Beal of Washington and Jayson Tatum of Boston. This is the fourth year of the NBA's playing captain format for the All-Star Game. James is 3-0, beating teams captained by Curry in 2018 and Antetokounmpo in the last two seasons. “I just try to pick players... [More]

Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Phoenix’s Devin Booker have been 3-point champions at All-Star weekend before, and they’ll try to win that trophy again Sunday. The NBA revealed the 15 players Tuesday who will be taking part in the other on-court events besides the All-Star Game in Atlanta, with the overwhelming majority of them pulling double-duty between those competitions and the game itself. Curry, Booker, the Boston duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Chicago’s Zach LaVine and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell — all of them All-Stars — will be the six competitors in the 3-point contest. All-Stars Luka Doncic of Dallas, Domantas Sabonis of Indiana, Julius Randle of New York, Nikola Vucevic of Orlando and Chris Paul of Phoenix will be five of the six entrants in the skills competition. They’ll be joined by Portland’s Robert Covington, the only current NBA player who is a graduate of a historically Black college and university. Covington went to Tennessee State. HBCUs will be a major part of... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant will be out through the All-Star break because of a hamstring injury, sidelining the Brooklyn Nets star from a game for which he was chosen to serve as a captain. Indiana's Domantas Sabonis was chosen by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace Durant, with Boston's Jayson Tatum elevated to the pool of starters for the March 7 game in Atlanta. The Nets said Friday that after a routine follow-up MRI on Durant's left hamstring, it was determined that he needed additional recovery time. That ends the first half of his impressive return from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. He is averaging 29 points and 7.3 rebounds. But he has been limited to only 19 games and missed nine of the last 10, first because of health and safety protocol reasons and then the hamstring. It also means the Nets will have Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden on the court together for only six full games before the All-Star break. Durant has missed Brooklyn's last six games. The... [More]

New Orleans forward Zion Williamson now can be called an NBA All-Star, and only three others in the game’s 70-year history have gotten there at a younger age. Williamson is one of four first-time All-Stars, all revealed Tuesday night when the league announced the reserves for the March 7 game in Atlanta. Joining him as fellow All-Star rookies: Boston’s Jaylen Brown, New York’s Julius Randle and Chicago’s Zach LaVine. Phoenix’s Chris Paul is an All-Star for the 11th time, and Brooklyn’s James Harden is one for the ninth consecutive year. The rest of the reserves include Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic from the Eastern Conference, along with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George, Utah teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, and Portland’s Damian Lillard from the Western Conference. “It's definitely an honor," Mitchell said. Team captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to treat a cancerous growth on his left kidney. Team officials made the announcement Tuesday and said the 26-year-old LeVert is expected to make a full recovery. The Pacers said no additional treatment is needed. Doctors found the small mass during a routine, post-trade physical and immediately conducted additional tests. LeVert was part of the blockbuster deal that sent James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn then was dealt by the Rockets to Indiana for Victor Oladipo. The Pacers said LeVert was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and had surgery Monday at a local hospital. “It’s definitely been some trying times for myself and my family," LeVert said during his introductory news conference last week. “I'm just very grateful for the support I’ve received not only from the players but from the front office and the fans. It’s going to be a crazy recovery as well, but I think myself and the... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caris LeVert's debut with the Indiana Pacers has been put on hold indefinitely after an MRI revealed a small mass on his left kidney. President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard made the announcement Saturday, three days after LeVert became part of a blockbuster, four-team deal that sent perennial All-Star James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets. Pritchard did not provide details of the diagnosis including whether it was cancerous and declined to establish a timeline for LeVert's return. “In the medical process we’ve done, we were able to find something that could help this kid and give him a better and clean prognosis for the rest of his life," Pritchard said on a Zoom call Saturday. “It’s an incredible story, and it's something we don't take lightly." It also didn't scuttle the big trade though Houston and Cleveland, the fourth team involved, agreed to throw in future, unspecified second-round picks to keep... [More]

Pelicans first-year coach Stan Van Gundy was hired less than two months before the Pelicans first preseason game earlier this week. Never mind that he's taking over a roster that is loaded with young players and has been entirely overhauled since New Orleans hired David Griffin as executive vice president of basketball operations in 2019. So when Van Gundy was asked whether he expected to have a clear vision for individual players' roles and minutes during the preseason, he didn't hesitate to say he did not even expect to know that when New Orleans' regular season slate opens on Dec. 23. “I’m not sure I’ll be there on Jan. 15 either. It’s going to take some time," Van Gundy continued. "I want these guys in a mindset of competing and having to produce for minutes.” While coaches with overhauled rosters face similar challenges trying to navigate a compressed timeline that is loaded with uncertainty, it's even more difficult for Van Gundy and the eight other NBA teams with new coaches this... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers could open this season without forward T.J. Warren, their top scorer from last season. The team said Thursday that Warren has plantar fascitis in his right foot and will be listed as week to week. It’s the same injury that kept All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis from returning to action in the NBA’s bubble last August. Indiana also will be without backup guard Brian Bowen II for 6-8 weeks because of a partially torn groin muscle. Warren’s injury could be more detrimental. Last season, he scored 19.8 points while shooting 53.6% from the field — both career-highs. And in the bubble, Warren was spectacular, averaging 31.0 points in six games including a 53-point game against Philadelphia to tie the team’s single-game scoring record. “He’s just a sneaky scorer and we’ve got to take advantage of that,” president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said two weeks ago. “And we’ve got to play him at the four. Last time, I checked when he played the four,... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Pritchard swallowed hard when the Indiana Pacers endured yet another season-ending first-round sweep last week.Then the Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations tried to wash away the sour taste.Five days after firing coach and longtime friend Nate McMillan, Pritchard has embarked on a search for a replacement who can communicate better with today's players, someone with a more updated playing style and someone who can win in the playoffs.“I think it shows you by the actions of the last few days our ownership expects more," Pritchard said Monday. “It’s up to me to step up to the plate and find the right person to lead the locker room, be creative and find a new age coach. We’ve been in the playoffs, we keep getting into the playoffs, we come up with fourth-best record in the East and that’s something we’re proud of. But we want to play well in the playoffs."That wasn't the case under McMillan, who reached the postseason in all four seasons as the Pacers... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nate McMillan won dozens of regular-season games despite the Indiana Pacers' continual injuries.The playoff losses cost him his job: On Wednesday, two days after enduring a second straight first-round sweep, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard fired McMillan.“This was a very hard decision for us to make; but we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction,” said Pritchard, whose relationship with McMillan dates to their earlier days in Portland. “Nate and I have been through the good times and the bad times; and it was an honor to work with him for those 11 years."The decision was a surprise, given Pritchard's Aug. 12 announcement that McMillan had been given a one-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season. At the time, Pritchard cited McMillan's ability to overcome major injuries — like the one that kept Victor Oladipo out for 12 months — and personnel changes, such as the trade of All-Star forward Paul... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nate McMillan won dozens of regular-season games despite the Indiana Pacers' continual injuries.The playoff losses cost him his job.On Wednesday, two days after enduring a second straight first-round sweep, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard fired McMillan.“This was a very hard decision for us to make; but we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction,” Pritchard said, whose relationship with McMillan dates to their earlier days in Portland. “Nate and I have been through the good times and the bad times; and it was an honor to work with him for those 11 years."The decision was a surprise, given Pritchard's Aug. 12 announcement that McMillan had been given a one-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season.At the time, Pritchard cited McMillan's ability to overcome major injuries — like the one that kept Victor Oladipo out for 12 months — and personnel changes, such as the trade of All-Star forward Paul George.Another... [More]