WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and a pair of record-breaking Golden State Warriors lead the list of 14 players selected by the NBA's head coaches as reserves for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
Joining Westbrook as reserves in the Western Conference player pool is LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs, Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.
This is Towns' first time as an All-Star. With Green and Thompson earning spots alongside starters Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, the Warriors are the first team to have a record-tying four All-Stars in consecutive years.
The Eastern Conference reserve pool includes three first-time All-Stars: Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks. They are joined by Al Horford of the Boston Celtics, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors and John Wall of the Wizards.
The 67th NBA All-Star Game, featuring Team LeBron vs Team Stephen, will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 18. The midseason classic will reach fans in more than 200 countries and regions and will be broadcast in more than 40 languages.
Under the new All-Star Game format that replaces the traditional matchup between conferences, Curry and LeBron James -- the All-Star starter from each conference who received the most fan votes in his conference -- will serve as team captains and draft the team rosters from the pool of players voted starters and reserves. All-Star team rosters will be unveiled on Thursday.
