Luka Doncic Named 2026 All Star Starter After Winning Fan Vote
The NBA announced its All-Star starters today, and Lakers star Luka Doncic led the way, winning the fan poll with 3.4 million votes, nearly 200,000 votes more than second place. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as Doncic has been among the league’s best all season.
In 36 games for the Lakers this season, Doncic is averaging a league-high 33.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in 36.4 minutes. His assist average ranks fourth in the NBA, while his steals per game rank ninth. Doncic is on pace for the second-highest scoring average of his career and the fourth-highest single-season average in Lakers history.
This is Lukas’ sixth career All-Star selection and his fifth as a starter. The 26-year-old from Slovenia becomes the 15th player in NBA history to earn his sixth All-Star selection before age 27. This is his first All-Star appearance as a Los Angeles Laker.
The following players were announced as starters alongside Doncic.
Western Conference
Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Eastern Conference
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
No Lebron
A storyline emerging from this announcement is the absence of another Lakers’ star, LeBron James. This is the first time in 22 years that James has not been a starter.
However, he still has an opportunity to be a reserve, as 14 spots remain to be decided by a poll of NBA coaches.
New game format
The NBA announced before the season that it is trying out yet another new format for the All-Star Game. This year, it will be USA vs. the World, with three teams of at least eight players each. This means that there will technically be 15 players “starting” in the All-Star Tournament.
All-Star Weekend is slated for February 13-15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Doncic will look to lead the World team to an inaugural victory in this new tournament format.
