NEW YORK — Kobe Bryant may be struggling through the final season of his illustrious career but the Los Angeles Lakers’ great was still the top choice to be a starter at next month’s All-Star Game, the NBA said Thursday.
Bryant led all players with almost 1.89 million fan votes, nearly 300,000 more than second-placed Stephen Curry, earning him the right to be one of the five Western Conference starters for the league’s annual exhibition.
The 18th All-Star berth puts Bryant, a four-time All-Star Game MVP and top scorer in the contest’s history, one behind Hall of Famer and fellow Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most all time.
The 37-year-old Bryant, in his 20th season and arguably the best player of his generation, announced last November that he would retire after the 2015-16 NBA season.
The other Western Conference starters were Curry of the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Eastern Conference starters are LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.
Leonard is a first-time All-Star, overtaking Golden State’s Draymond Green in the closing weeks of fan voting for the exhibition.
But as interim returns were released Bryant expressed surprise that he was leading in the balloting, as he is shooting just 34.5 percent from the field this season and the 9-35 Lakers are last in the Western Conference.
“It’ll be a special All-Star because this is Kobe’s last run,” Miami’s Dwyane Wade said. “Obviously, I wasn’t in the league and didn’t get a chance to see (Michael) Jordan’s, but I was watching as a fan and it looked like it would be something cool to be a part of. So this will be special.”
The All-Star reserves will be named on Jan. 28.
The All-Star Game is in Toronto on Feb. 14. — Agencies
