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The NBA All-Star weekend is one of the most entertaining sports events in the world and thousands of basketball fans watch it every year. Spread over three days, it features several events but the most exciting and highly anticipated event is the All-Star Game.
The All-Star Game has 12 basketball players on each team and this will be the second time that the game is not played in West vs East format. Last year, Team LeBron defeated Team Stephen to win the All-Star Game.
This year, it is Team LeBron vs Team Giannis and it promises to be an exciting contest. In this article, let us take a look at the predicted starting lineup for Team LeBron.
James Harden - G
James Harden is having an unforgettable season and is averaging mind-boggling numbers. The guard has put the team on his back and is carrying them every single game. Even though the Rockets had a rough start to the season, Harden's heroics over a long stretch helped them get to the fifth spot in West.
Harden is averaging a ridiculous 36.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game this season. With Chris Paul out for the most part of the season, Harden went off and is currently on a 29-game streak of 30 or more points.
He is also one of the front-runners for the MVP award and will be interesting to see if he defends that award successfully. This will be Harden's 7th straight All-Star appearance and will be the only player from the Houston Rockets at the All-Star Game this year.
Harden received a lot of criticism as well for the number of free-throws he is attempting this year. He leads the league in free-throw attempts with 11.7 attempts per game.
Kyrie Irving - G
Kyrie Irving will be in his 6th All-Star Game and will play alongside his former teammate, LeBron James. He has received the highest number of fan votes for guards in Eastern Conference and will be the only player from Boston Celtics in this year's All-Star Game.
Irving is currently in his second season with the franchise and is averaging 23.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game.
Even though Kyrie has been his usual self, the Celtics have been very inconsistent this season and are currently at the fifth spot in East at 35-21.
Irving is currently in his last guaranteed year of the contract and will have a player option for the 2019-20 season. Throughout the season, he has been linked to multiple teams including teams like Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. Only time will tell what the future holds.
Kawhi Leonard - F
Kawhi Leonard is back in the All-Star Game once again after missing out last year due to injury. He will be in his third All-Star Game and was chosen by LeBron James in the All-Star Game draft.
Leonard is currently in his first season with the Toronto Raptors and has successfully placed them at the second spot in East at 41-16. The forward is averaging 26.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season on an impressive 49.2 percent shooting.
He will become a free agent after this season and it was reported that several teams would be interested in signing the 27-year-old two-way player.
In the 2018 offseason, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors by the San Antonio Spurs in a trade centered around DeMar DeRozan. Raptors' guard Kyle Lowry will also be representing the franchise at the All-Star Game.
Kevin Durant - F
The fans will get to see two of the NBA's biggest superstars play alongside each other for a second straight year as LeBron James chose Kevin Durant with the first All-Star pick.
The two superstars have had several memorable games playing opposite each other. James also revealed during this year's All-Star draft that he chose Kevin Durant as the first pick, last year as well.
This is Kevin Durant's 10th straight All-Star appearance and his third straight with the Warriors. Durant is having a great season with the Warriors and is averaging 27.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
As a matter of fact, Durant has never averaged less than 25.0 points per game since his rookie season and is expected to be the Warriors' go-to man once again in playoffs.
He is also the two-time defending NBA Finals MVP and will be interesting to see if he can make it three in a row.
LeBron James - F
Isn't this obvious? The captain of Team LeBron will start as the small forward for the team and this will be his 15th All-Star Game. He is also the defending All-Star Game MVP and will be looking to win the award once again this year.
Last year, he successfully led his team to victory over Team Stephen, with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, falling two assists shy of a triple-double. The King is a three-time All-Star MVP and has made it to the All-Star Game in all but his rookie season.
With 15 All-Star Game starts, he ties the record set by Kobe Bryant and will most likely break it next year. LeBron has missed several games this season due to a groin injury suffered against the Golden State Warriors.
With LeBron back in the lineup, the Lakers have their eyes on playoffs and it will be interesting to see how far they go in the playoffs.
Guess the Lakers players!
