.jpg?itok=sn-xLBZ2&ssl=1 "Four storylines to follow in NBA All-Star 2023: The show comes to Salt Lake City")
It’s the moment all fans have been waiting for: the NBA All-Star 2023. An unforgettable opportunity to enjoy the league’s biggest stars, up-and-coming youngsters and the most spectacular players in an event that will run from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 February.
Three days without rest in an inevitable appointment that this 2023 will visit Salt Lake City for the second time in its history, which coincides with 30 years since its first All Star Weekend.
With that in mind, it’s time to review it four stories which are set to mark Utah’s all-star weekend.
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The All-Star Game Draft
It’s the great innovation of this All Star Game. If in the last four editions the teams were determined based on what the two captains decided in the weeks before the event, this 2023 there will be some changes. For the first time in the history of the match, it will not be known who makes up the two teams until 30 minutes before kick-off. The league made the avant-garde decision to conduct the Draft as if it were an amateur duel.
LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will choose it 11 players accompany them and form their respective groups. They will do it in the middle of the Vivint Arena field, in front of the eyes of the whole world, having the opportunity to enjoy live the reactions of those involved. An unrepeatable moment that will excite fans.
The conquest of international players
Year by year the NBA is becoming more and more international. This does not mean that those born in the United States have lowered their level or have less presence, quite the opposite. What has happened and is happening is that the level of international stars has risen significantly, which has materialized in the fact that the All-Stars increasingly represent that plurality of nations that the American league enjoys.
In this 2023 there will be a record 8 players selected as internationals, of which 5 will be starters. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, Lauri Markkanen, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Pascal Siakam and Domantas Sabonis. This number could increase to 9 if included Kyrie Irving, he was born in Australia but where he spent only the first 2 years of his life.
These 8 internationals represent the most in the history of the All-Star along with its editions 2021 and 2020 and they confirm the great moment that the championship is experiencing worldwide.
LeBron, in search of more records
At the Salt Lake City All-Star The protagonist will be LeBron James again. If in 2022 he matched Kobe Bryant in the election for this event, in 2023 he will do it with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 19 appearances on the night of stars. In favor of the newly confirmed leading scorer in the history of the league, it will be James the player who has played in the most All-Stars with 19 because Karim played only 18.
At 38, the Akron native will join Steve Nash, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and the aforementioned Abdul Jabbar as the only All-Stars since that age.
All this while increasing his legend as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 413 points, ahead of runner-up Kobe Bryant with 123 points.
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The victims, the great protagonists
It’s impossible to talk about the 2023 All-Star Game without mentioning the absences that will be there due to the various injuries that have occurred in recent weeks.
The most essential will be that of Stephen Curry, who experienced a left knee accident, MVP in 2022, although Kevin Durant (right knee) and Zion Williamson (right hamstrings), both starters, will be missing. Along with those absences will be Jaylen Brown (fractured face). A list Joel Embiid could join, who recently acknowledged that he has discomfort in one leg.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
