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Sixth-man
Bryant to start for All-Stars
NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant, the 19-year-old reserve for the Los Angeles
Lakers, will be the youngest starter in the history of the NBA All-Star Game.
Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was the leading vote-getter for the Feb. 8
game in New York, the ninth time in his career he received the most votes from
the fans.
The starting lineups for the Eastern and
Western conference teams were
announced by the league Sunday, and
Bryant's selection was a surprise given
he does not even start for his own club.
He is averaging 17.3 points and 26
minutes a game and is the leading
candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
Jordan, who received 1,028,235 votes,
will open at guard for the East. Others
voted to the East starting team were
guard Anfernee Hardaway of Orlando, forwards Grant Hill of Detroit and
Shawn Kemp of Cleveland and center Dikembe Mutombo of Atlanta.
Hardaway is recovering from knee surgery. If he can't play, NBA commissioner
David Stern will select a replacement.
Joining Bryant in the starting West backcourt will be Gary Payton of Seattle, with
Karl Malone of Utah and Kevin Garnett of Minnesota at forward and Shaquille
O'Neal of the Lakers at center.
Before Bryant, the youngest All-Star starter was Magic Johnson of the Lakers in
the 1980 game. At the time, Johnson was 20 years old.
Jordan, selected to the All-Star team for the 12th time, also was the top
vote-getter from 1987-93 and 1997. Hill was the top vote-getter in 1995 and
1996.
Hill was the East runner-up this time with 838,692 votes out of more than 3.3
million ballots cast. This will be the fourth All-Star game for Hill and Hardaway,
the sixth for Kemp and the fifth for Mutombo.
Kemp, who previously played for
Seattle, and Garnett are the first All-Star
starters for Cleveland and Minnesota.
"To me, the most important thing is that
you want to go to an All-Star Game on
a good note," said Kemp, who beat
Chicago's Scottie Pippen for a starting
spot in his first year in the Eastern
Conference. "You really want to have a
winning record. ...
"When I used to make the All-Star team on the West Coast, I always wondered
in the back of my head, 'If you're in the East, do you think it would work out?' I
had some questions about it, and I'm just glad it worked out."
Malone, playing in his 11th All-Star Game, was the leading vote-getter in the
West with 616,251.
O'Neal beat San Antonio's David Robinson in the closest vote, 565,184 to
548,633, for the West's starting center position. O'Neal will be making his sixth
All-Star appearance. Payton will be playing in his fifth All-Star Game, Garnett
his second and Bryant his first.
The remaining seven members of each team will be selected this week by the
coaches in each conference.
George Karl of Seattle will coach the West team, and Larry Bird of Indiana will
coach the East. |
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