For the sixth consecutive season, Jayson Tatum is headed to the NBA All-Star Game.
The Boston Celtics superstar was announced Thursday as one of five Eastern Conference starters, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned the five starting spots for the West. All-Star starters were selected by a combination of votes from fans (50%), players (25%) and media members (25%).
Tatum leads the defending champion Celtics in scoring, rebounding and assists this season. His 27.4 points per game ranked fifth in the NBA entering Thursday’s games. This is Tatum’s sixth career All-Star selection and the third straight year he’s been voted an All-Star starter. He also started the 2021 and 2022 All-Star Games as an injury replacement for Durant.
In 2023, Tatum earned All-Star Game MVP honors after scoring 55 points on 22-of-31 shooting (71.0%) to lead his team to a 184-175 win.
The All-Star Game will be played under a new format this season, with a pool of 24 All-Stars split into three teams to compete in a tournament on Feb. 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco. The fourth participating squad will be the team that wins the Rising Stars game — an annual showcase of rookies, second-year players and G Leaguers.
The All-Star reserves, which are chosen by NBA coaches, will be announced next Thursday. Tatum’s Celtics co-star, Jaylen Brown, has a strong chance of joining him at the event.
Brown, a three-time All-Star, was the only other Boston player to rank in the top 10 of voting at his position. He finished sixth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players (sixth in player vote; fifth by fans and media) behind Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Towns, Paolo Banchero and Evan Mobley.
The Celtics also pushed voting campaigns for guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Holiday is a two-time All-Star, most recently during the 2022-23 season. White is the only Boston starter who has not made an All-Star Game. Neither cracked the top 10 of East guard voting, coming in 14th and 12th, respectively.
Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford ranked 16th and 29th, respectively, among frontcourt players in the East.
Two other unlikely Celtics received All-Star votes from fellow players: reserves Luke Kornet (two) and Jordan Walsh (one). Payton Pritchard, the NBA’s midseason favorite for Sixth Man of the Year, did not garner any player or media votes but ranked 17th in fan voting among East guards, higher than any other bench player.
