Arenas crashes party as All-Star starters announced

Jan 26, 2007, 1:20 GMT

New York, NY - Cleveland forward LeBron James and Houston center Yao Ming were the top vote-getters in their respective conferences as the starters were announced Thursday for the 2007 NBA All-Star game, which will be held on Sunday, February 18 in Las Vegas.

James, last year's All-Star game MVP, received 2,516,049 votes to top all players and lead the East. James' total was the second highest in league history, behind only Yao's 2,558,278 votes in 2005.

Yao didn't do to bad himself this year, despite a knee injury that will keep him out of the game. The Rockets center led the West in votes with 2,451,718, good for the fourth most all-time.

While Yao and James leading their conferences in votes is no surprise, the surge Gilbert Arenas made to crack the East's starting lineup was. The Washington guard, who didn't make the squad last year until being added as an injury replacement, made up over 200,000 votes to pass the Nets' Vince Carter for the second guard spot, joining Miami's Dwyane Wade (2,029,591 votes).

Arenas ended with 1,454,166 votes, a mere 3,010 more than Carter. That total marks the fourth-closest race in NBA All-Star history. The closest ever was A.C. Green's 1,226-vote difference over Karl Malone in 1990.

Despite missing a majority of the season so far due to knee surgery, Shaquille O'Neal received 1,622,446 votes and was selected to his 14th straight All-Star game. That ties him with both Jerry West and Malone for the most consecutive selections.

Rounding out the starters for the East will be first-time starter Chris Bosh of Toronto. Bosh netted 1,091,263 votes to beat out Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal.

Over on the Western side, Yao's teammate Tracy McGrady (1,942,796) will start, and appear in his seventh All-Star game. Joining him in the backcourt will be Lakers star Kobe Bryant (2,138,777), who will be making his ninth trip to the All-Star tilt.

A new-comer to the conference, Denver's Allen Iverson fell over 100,000 votes short of reaching the starting lineup. The former 76er had started the last seven mid-season classics and is a two-time MVP.

Kevin Garnett of Minnesota received the most votes of any Western forward with 1,616,575 while Tim Duncan (1,436,584), who has been selected to every All- Star game since entering the league in 1997, finished second and will join Garnett up front as a starter. Those selections will leave Denver's Carmelo Anthony out of the starting lineup.

Phoenix head coach Mike D'Antoni and the rest of the Suns coaching staff will guide the Western team, having already clinched the best winning percentage among West teams through games of February 4th with a record of 34-8. The Eastern Conference coach has yet to be determined.

Last year, Wade's late basket helped the East rally for a 122-120 win. James ended with 29 points and six boards to become the youngest MVP at 21-years-old in the history of the contest.

© 2007 The Sports Network