Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic Named NBA All-Star Starter for 4th Time
DALLAS —Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has continued to play at an elite level this season, averaging 33.6 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in 37 games. Thursday night, he was officially named one of the five Western Conference starters for the NBA All-Star Game scheduled for February 18 in Indianapolis.
Doncic joins Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Nikola Jokic as being one of the five Western Conference All-Star starters. The Eastern Conference starters include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard.
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Doncic earned his fifth All-Star appearance, his fourth time being named a starter. He already has the second most All-Star appearances in Mavs history, trailing only Dirk Nowitzki, who did it 14 times. However, no player has ever represented the organization as a starter in the All-Star game more than Doncic.
With the Mavs already being in Atlanta ahead of Friday's matchup against the Hawks, he visited TNT's studio to appear on 'Inside the NBA' to discuss being named an All-Star. He reflected on when he was a child trying to watch the event from Slovenia, but his parents wouldn't allow him since it was 3:00 a.m. in his country and he had school to worry about.
"Every time I'm there, I remember when I was a kid. I always tried to watch the All-Star game, but my parents wouldn't let me. It was like 3:00 a.m., I had school," Doncic said on Inside the NBA. "I just wanted to be in the NBA, that was all. In my first year, I didn't know what to expect or where I would be, but I was just happy to be here and play basketball at the highest level."
At just 24 years old, Doncic joins James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Isiah Thomas, and Anthony Davis as the only players with five All-Star selections before their 25th birthday.
Doncic moves ahead of Rolando Blackman, who had four All-Star selections, to hold the second-highest number of selections in Mavericks history. Dirk Nowitzki still leads with 14 All-Star appearances, including an impressive 11 consecutive selections from 2002 to 2012.
Kyrie Irving finished fourth among Western Conference guards in fan voting. He remains a potential All-Star candidate but will need to earn a spot as a reserve. He was named an All-Star starter last season, making the Mavs the only team in the NBA with two All-Star starters in 2022-23.
