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For the second year, the NBA All-Star game Captains will be able to personally chose their teams from those selected by the fans, players, coaches and media regardless of the conference. Captains should be those who are leaders within their own perspective teams.
They should also possess traits such as competitiveness, the ability to hold themselves and others accountable and take advantage of learning opportunities. But with the All-Star game, the captains should also have the skill of being entertaining. There are three franchise players who come to mind as great candidates for the Eastern Conference Captain position.
Giannis Antetokounmpo would be the most obvious, and deserving choice to be the captain of the Eastern Conference All-Stars. Not only is he leading in votes among the Eastern Conference players, but his team currently has the best record in the NBA. Antetokounmpo is undeniably one of the best players at his position in the NBA today.
He leads the Milwaukee Bucks in points per game (26.5), rebounds per game (12.6), and assist per game (5.9). It's safe to say that the Bucks will not be in their position if it was not for Antetokounmpo. Youth, high energy, ability to run the floor, find the open man, and finish with massive dunks when the opportunity presents itself, makes Antetokounmpo the leading candidate for Eastern Conference captain.
Joel Embiid has given the Philadelphia 76ers a spark that has been missing since the days of Allen Iverson. Embiid leads the 76ers in points per game (27.1), rebounds per game (13.2) and blocks per game (2.0).
Even though his statistics are good and contributes to his team being fourth in the Eastern Conference, it is not the reason why he has made the list. His competitiveness and trash talking gives his more of an entertaining edge over Antetokounmpo and Leonard.
Embiid has a history of getting under the skin and frustrating the opposing teams' star players (i.e. Russell Westbrook, Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and most recently James Harden). For entertainment purposes, most fans would love to see Embiid pick Westbrook to be part of his All-Star team.
Moving to the Eastern Conference has not shown to be of any issue for the Toronto Raptors' Kawhi Leonard. Just as such with the San Antonio Spurs in the years past, Leonard is doing his part to keep his team amongst the top.
The Raptors are currently holding on to second place in the East. Leading the team in points (27.6), rebounds (7.9) and assist (1.9) per game, Leonard is the player that will not say a word during an entire game and finish with 40 points without creating a highlight reel. He is not fancy with his play, but strategic.
He seems to always stay focused on winning. Verbally silent, dedication and hard work on the court is why Leonard makes a great case for captain in the East. Besides, with a live televised draft, it will interesting to see if Leonard will be Gregg Popovich-like with his picks. Now that will be dry, yet funny and expected from Leonard.
Guess the Lakers players!
