GASOLS ARE ALL STAR SIBLINGS
- Updated: January 23, 2015
Pau and Marc Gasol will become the first brothers to both start in an NBA All Star Game after both were voted in by fans for next month’s showpiece in New York.
Dramatic late runs by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors headlined the final results of NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 . Curry (1,513,324 votes) edged the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (1,470,483) to become the top overall vote-getter after trailing by 13,285 votes in the most recent balloting update. Curry, who started in last year’s NBA All-Star Game, is the first Warrior to be named a starter in back-to-back All-Star Games since Chris Mullin in 1991-92.
Lowry (805,290) rallied from a deficit of more than 100,000 votes at the last balloting update to overtake the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and join the Washington Wizards’ John Wall (886,368) in the starting backcourt for the Eastern Conference. Wall, making his second straight All-Star appearance and first start, is the first Wizards starter since Gilbert Arenas in 2007. This is the first All-Star appearance for Lowry, who becomes the first Raptor to start since Chris Bosh in 2008. The East will have two first-time starters in the backcourt for the first time since Allen Iverson (Philadelphia) and Eddie Jones (Charlotte) in 2000.
The 64th NBA All-Star Game, broadcast on BT Sport, will tip off early on Monday morning on February 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
James, the top vote-getter last season, will start his 11th All-Star Game in 12 seasons. He was followed in the overall voting by the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis (1,369,911), who finished with the most votes among frontcourt players in the Western Conference. At 21, Davis is the youngest starter in this year’s game, which features five first-time starters and 10 starters from 10 different teams.
James, who this month became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 24,000 points, is joined in the East frontcourt by the Chicago Bulls’ Pau Gasol (974,177), an All-Star for the fifth time, and the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony (647,005), who earned his eighth All-Star nod. Anthony boasts the fourth-highest scoring average (21.1 points) in All-Star history and is the 10th player to earn four All-Star selections with two different teams (Denver, New York).
Gasol’s brother Marc of the Memphis Grizzlies was picked to start for the West, marking the first time in history two brothers will start an NBA All-Star Game. The Gasols are the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Tom and Dick Van Arsdale played in the 1970 and 1971 games.
“I am honoured and humbled to be selected as a starter for the All-Star Game,†Marc Gasol said. “Knowing that I will be facing my brother Pau for the opening tip, it will be a true accomplishment for our family and a memory I will cherish for the rest of my career.”
Curry, who this month became the fastest player in NBA history to hit 1,000 career three-pointers (369 games), is joined in the West backcourt by the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (1,152,402), named an All-Star for the 17th time, second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19). Bryant, who in December passed Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, is the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history with 280 points.
Davis and Marc Gasol (795,121) will share the West frontcourt with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (700,615), an All-Star for the fifth consecutive season and the only player in the NBA averaging at least 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists this season. It’s the second straight All-Star nod for Davis, who leads the NBA in blocks (2.95 bpg) and ranks among the top 10 in scoring (24.3 ppg), rebounding (10.4 rpg) and field goal percentage (56.3). This is the second selection for the Grizzlies’ Gasol, who is averaging a career-high 19.3 points, nearly five points above his previous best.
The NBA’s 30 head coaches will select the reserves for the 2015 All-Star Game. They must vote for seven players within their conference: two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Reserves will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 29. If a player is unable to participate in the All-Star Game after the coaches choose the reserves, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement with Bryant a likely absentee after suffering a shoulder injury.
The East and West All-Star coaches and coaching staffs are determined by the best record in the conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 1. By virtue of their teams’ victories on Wednesday, the Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Budenholzer – once a star of the Scottish League with Pentland Tigers – and his staff will coach the East and Golden State’s Steve Kerr and his staff will lead the West.
Former Great Britain international Luol Deng, twice previously an All Star, was outside the voting top 15 among forwards in the East.
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