Giannis Antetokounmpo named All-Star starter

Giannis Antetokounmpo is an NBA All-Star starter once again.

The league announced the starters Thursday night and Antetokounmpo was one of the five from the Eastern Conference. Others include Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, and Washington’s Bradley Beal. As the top vote getter in the East, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant is a team captain.

The All-Star starters from the Western Conference are Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Dallas’ Luke Doncic, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard. As the top voter getter in the West, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is the other team captain.

Once the reserves are announced, Durant and James will hold a draft to determine the teams for the All-Star Game that will be held March 7 in Atlanta.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 28.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists for Milwaukee, which sat at 16-12 heading into Thursday night’s game against Toronto. He becomes just the third player in team history with five or more All-Star Game selections, joining Sidney Moncrief (5) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6).