Reaction to Giannis Antetokounmpo being named a 2023 All-Star Captain
By Dalton Sell
The starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game have been revealed, and to the surprise of no one, Giannis Antetokounmpo was featured among them.
Not only was the Greek Freak named an All-Star for the seventh time in his career, but he also got the nod as a captain for the third time. Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, who was selected as the Western Conference Captain, will pick their respective teams just before the tip-off of the All-Star Game in Salt Lake City. After spending the prior two years on LeBron’s team, Antetokounmpo will now go against the 19-time All-Star head-to-head.
Reaction to Giannis Antetokounmpo being named a 2023 All-Star Captain
The news that Antetokounmpo is All-Star starter should be no surprise. The 28-year-old has been having another great season, having averaged 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per contest.
Antetokounmpo being named a captain was also not much of a surprise, given the final results of the fan voting returns. The Greek Freak finished with the most votes in the Eastern Conference and the second most in the NBA behind James by totaling 5,970,196 votes. In the league’s new All-Star format, the two players with the most votes are named captains, so Antetokounmpo and James were bound to meet on this stage yet again. It will be beyond entertaining to see these two superstars go back and forth to pick their supportive casts.
The reserves have not been revealed yet, but the big question is whether or not Antetokounmpo will be joined by another Buck in the game. Jrue Holiday has been having an incredible season and could very well be named a reserve. Brook Lopez also has a case, given his dominant two-way play in what has been his best season in several years. If either were selected, Antetokounmpo likely would not hesitate to pick either of them up. Both players are beyond deserving of a spot, and it will be interesting to see if the voters feel the same way about them.
Congrats to Giannis Antetokounmpo on his seventh All-Star selection and third appearance as the captain of the Eastern Conference.
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Perhaps the Greek Freak will look to reclaim the illustrious All-Star MVP trophy once again.