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Who I'd like to meet: The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that forward Chris Bosh was elected to the Eastern Conference team for the 2007 All-Star Game to be held Sunday, February 18 in Las Vegas. Bosh finished second among Eastern Conference forwards with 1,091,263 votes in the NBA All-Star balloting program that determines starters for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.
Bosh is the second Raptor to be elected and one of two Raptors to be selected to participate in more than one All-Star Game. Vince Carter was elected to five All-Star Games between 2000-2004 while with Toronto. Antonio Davis was selected as a reserve in 2001 and started in place of the injured Theo Ratliff.
“It's a blessing for me to know the fans appreciate my play and I appreciate them voting for me,” said Bosh. “I am thankful.
“This is a great honour and I'm looking forward to sharing the weekend with so many outstanding players.”
A product of Georgia Tech in his fourth season, Bosh leads the team in scoring (22.1), rebounding (11.0), blocked shots (1.29) and double-doubles (19). He has paced the Raptors in scoring on 25 occasions, including a season-high 35-point outing versus New Orleans/ Oklahoma City on January 24. He has led the team in rebounding 26 times, with a career high-tying 22 November 14 at Golden State.
Bosh was selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference team in 2006, netting eight points to go with eight rebounds in 16:35 minutes. Prior to last year, he participated in All-Star Weekend in 2004 and 2005 as a member of the Rookie and Sophomore teams, respectively, in the Rookie Challenge game. He had eight points in the contest as a rookie and tallied 26 points with a game-high 14 rebounds and four steals to lead the Sophomores to a 133-106 win.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James led all players in votes received in the NBA All-Star Balloting program presented by T-Mobile that determines starters for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. James, who earned Most Valuable Player honours in last year’s midseason classic in Houston, received 2,516,049 votes, the second-highest total in history behind Yao Ming’s 2005 total of 2,558,278. This year, Yao finished second receiving 2,451,718 votes, the fourth-highest total ever.
The closest voting race in this year’s balloting was among Eastern Conference guards. Miami’s Dwyane Wade secured one starting spot with 2,029,591 votes and Washington’s Gilbert Arenas (1,454,166) edged New Jersey’s Vince Carter (1,451,156) by 3,010 votes in the closest race in 17 years since A.C. Green/Karl Malone (1,226 votes) and John Stockton/Derek Harper (2,562 votes), both in 1990.
Miami centre Shaquille O’Neal (1,622,446) was selected to his 14th straight All-Star team, tying Lakers legend Jerry West (14; 1961-1974) and Utah great Karl Malone (14; 1988-2002) for the most consecutive selections. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for most All-Star Game selections with 19.
Through the 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program, which saw a 17 percent increase in votes cast over last year, fans worldwide were responsible for voting in the starters for the 56th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories. Head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Feb. 1, on TNT and in Canada on The Score.
Joining Yao as part of the Western Conference starting lineup is his Rockets’ teammate Tracy McGrady (1,942,796), who will be appearing in his seventh All-Star Game. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (1,436,584), who has been selected to every All-Star team since he entered the league in 1997, and Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett (1,616,575), who captured All-Star MVP honours in 2003, will be the starting forwards. L.A. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (2,138,777), who was the youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998, makes his ninth All-Star trip.
James will be joined in the Eastern Conference frontcourt by O’Neal and Toronto’s Chris Bosh (1,091,263), who will be making his first career All-Star start. Arenas also will make his first career All-Star start while Wade makes his second consecutive start and third straight appearance.
In selecting the reserves, the head coaches must vote for seven players, including two guards, two forwards, a centre and two players regardless of position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their team. After the coaches select the reserves, if a player is unable to participate in the All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select a replacement.
Phoenix head coach Mike D’Antoni and the Suns coaching staff earned the honour to coach the West as a result of their 112-107 win over New York last night combined with San Antonio’s 90-85 loss to Houston. The Suns (34-8, .800) have clinched the best winning percentage through games of Feb. 4 among eligible Western Conference teams for the All-Star coaching honors. The Eastern Conference Coach is yet to be determined. Last year’s All-Star coaches – Dallas’ Avery Johnson and Detroit’s Flip Saunders – are not eligible this year.
Through the Balloting program, which ran from Nov. 13, 2006 through Jan. 21, fans had the opportunity to vote at all NBA arenas, in 20 languages on NBA.com, on AOL.com/nba, at 1,250 T-Mobile-owned retail locations and at t-zones using T-Mobile service or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. Fans also were able to vote at several locations in Las Vegas, the host city of NBA All-Star 2007, including the Las Vegas Convention Centre, Fremont Street and the Thomas & Mack Centre. For the first time, 13 NBA team arenas also carried a Spanish-language version of the ballot. T-Mobile is the presenting partner of 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program. This year’s other All-Star Balloting partners include 2K Sports, AOL.com, XBOX, GameStop & EB Games.
NBA All-Star 2007 is a week-long celebration that enables fans to experience the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes playing the game they love and features a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals such as NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas.
The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the final returns of the 2007 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:
2007 NBA ALL-STAR FINAL BALLOTING - EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 2,516,049; Chris Bosh (Tor) 1,091,263; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 934,749; Grant Hill (Orl) 677,423; Paul Pierce (Bos) 615,911; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 549,693; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 459,139; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 408,936; Caron Butler (Was) 404,489; Emeka Okafor (Char) 388,170.
Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 2,029,591; Gilbert Arenas (Wash) 1,454,166; Vince Carter (NJ) 1,451,156; Jason Kidd (NJ) 838,486; Chauncey Billups (Det) 499,670; Stephon Marbury (NY) 458,181; Michael Redd (Mil) 351,277; Ben Gordon (Chi) 316,428; Steve Francis (NY) 307,287; Richard Hamilton (Det) 306,547.
Centres: Shaquille O'Neal (Mia) 1,622,446; Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,464,613; Ben Wallace (Chi) 788,950; Alonzo Mourning (Mia) 338,904; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 256,579; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 244,507; Nazr Mohammed (Det) 217,067; Eddy Curry (NY) 202,010; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 196,000; Primoz Brezec (Char) 164,734.
2007 NBA ALL-STAR FINAL BALLOTING - WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Minn) 1,616,575; Tim Duncan (SA) 1,436,584; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,309,945; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 1,276,304; Shane Battier (Hou) 1,025,643; Shawn Marion (Pho) 551,173; Lamar Odom (LAL) 438,824; Josh Howard (Dal) 412,102; Pau Gasol (Mem) 364,459; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 359,882.
Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 2,138,777; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,942,796; Allen Iverson (Den) 1,813,638*; Steve Nash (Pho) 1,504,826; Manu Ginobili (SA) 541,341; Tony Parker (SA) 501,429; Chris Paul (NOK) 462,206; Ray Allen (Sea) 444,443; Jason Terry (Dal) 421,924; Baron Davis (GS) 354,412.
Centres: Yao Ming (Hou) 2,451,718; Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 1,209,333; Erick Dampier (Dal) 385,179; Marcus Camby (Den) 373,382; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 339,247; Francisco Elson (SA) 252,622; Tyson Chandler (NOK) 202,531; Brad Miller (Sac) 186,230; Mark Blount (Minn) 175,322; Chris Kaman (LAC) 160,234.
* The Philadelphia – Denver trade involving Allen Iverson was completed after the media panel’s deadline for selecting the ballot and therefore Iverson is listed on the ballot as a member of his prior team. For tabulation purposes, Iverson’s votes will be counted towards the Western Conference totals.
