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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UIC chapter.

NBA All-Star Week is approaching and this year’s NBA All-Star week will be held in Chicago. The All-Star game will be played Sunday, February 16th  at 7:00 p.m. central time. The game will feature the All-Star players selected from the East and West Divisions. The captains this year will once again be Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James from the Los Angeles Lakers. The following list contains the starters and reserves from each division. 

East All-Star Starters: 

Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks (captain) 

Joel Embid from Philadelphia 76ers 

Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors 

Kemba Walker from the Boston Celtics 

Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks 

East All-Star Reserves: 

Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat

Ben Simmons from the Philadelphia 76ers 

Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors

Khris Middleton from the Milwaukee Bucks 

Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers 

Jayon Tatum from the Boston Celtics

Bam Adebayo from the Miami Heat

West All-Star Starters:

Lebron James from the Los Angeles Lakers (captain) 

Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks 

James Harden from the Houston Rockets 

Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers

Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers

West All-Star Reserves:

Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets

Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers 

Dovovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz

Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz 

Chris Paul from the Oklahoma City Thunder

Bradon Ingram from the New Orlean Pelicans 

Russell Westbrook from the Houston Rockets

As seen by this list, no players from the Chicago Bulls were selected to the All-Star game despite many people making the case that Bull’s guard Zach LaVine played like an All-Star all season. Many also hoped LaVine would participate in this year’s All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, but it was confirmed via the team’s Twitter and Instagram accounts he will participate in the 3-point contest instead. The other contestants for the All-Star 3-point contest are: Damian Lillard, Buddy Hield, Trae Young, Joe Harris, Duncan Robinson, Devonte’ Graham, and Davis Bertans. Meanwhile, the four participants for the slam dunk contest are: Aaron Gordon, Dwight Howard, Pat Connaugton, and Derrick Jones Jr. 

Additionally, Antetokounmpo’s team will all wear the #24 in honor of Kobe Bryant and James’ team will all wear #2 in honor of Gigi Bryant. While the rules took many people by surprise because of their complexity, it is the thought that matters. The new rules could also prove to make the game more competitive for the players and more exciting for the fans. 

Certainly, the event will be beneficial for the city of Chicago as it will host a variety of celebrities and bring in a wave of tourists. The city will also receive a lot of media attention leading up to the All-Star Game and if you’re in town, you can go to Navy Pier to watch First Take in person on February 13th and 14th. 

 

Amy Hernandez is a senior at UIC pursuing a degree in English with a concentration in professional writing and a minor in Communication 
UIC Contributor.