Coaches vote LA Clippers' Chris Paul onto 2015 NBA All-Star team

January 30, 2015

The Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul has been voted by the coaches to the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve for the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in New York City, the NBA announced.

"It is a true honor to be selected by the coaches to be in the All-Star Game," Paul said in a statement. "I am blessed to be able to represent the Clippers organization in New York with Blake."

This will be Paul’s eighth All-Star game selection, as he has been a starter four times and a reserve twice and missed the game in 2010 due to injury.  Paul owns the highest assist average in All-Star Game history with an average of 12.5 per game.

Paul was the All-Star MVP at the 2013 All-Star Game in Houston after posting 20 points, 15 assists, and four steals in a 143-138 win over the Eastern Conference.

Paul is averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 assists, and 1.89 steals per game in 46 games (all starts). He ranks 1st in assist-to-turnover ratio, 3rd in assists, 7th in steals, and 7th in free throw percentage (.891) in the NBA this season.

Joining Paul as reserves for the Western Conference are: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland), Tim Duncan (San Antonio), Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), James Harden (Houston), and Klay Thompson (Golden State).

Thompson's selection was his first.  He will join teammate and starter Stephen Curry to give the Western Conference-leading Warriors two All-Stars for the first time since Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway in 1993.

Aldridge, who is averaging a career-high 23.6 points, is an All-Star for the fourth time. It’s the 15th All-Star nod for Duncan, who joins Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal with the third-most selections in history behind Abdul-Jabbar (19) and Kobe Bryant (17). Durant, the all-time leader in All-Star Game scoring average (30.6), secured his sixth All-Star selection.

Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer (27.3 ppg), makes his third consecutive trip to the All-Star Game since joining the Rockets in 2012. Westbrook, who is averaging career highs in points (25.2) and rebounds (5.9), was named an All-Star for the fourth time.

As for the East, three members of the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks -- Al Horford, Paul Millsap, and Jeff Teague -- were selected by the coaches as reserves.

Horford, Millsap, and Teague comprise the first trio of All-Stars for the Hawks since John Drew, Eddie Johnson, and Dan Roundfield in 1980.

For Horford, it’s his third All-Star berth and first since 2011. Millsap, the only player in the East averaging at least 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals, will play in his second consecutive All-Star Game. Teague, who is averaging career highs in points (17.0) and assists (7.5), is a first-time All-Star in his sixth NBA season.

The Hawks’ trio is joined in the East by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler, and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving.

This is the 11th consecutive All-Star selection for Wade and the 10th straight nod for Bosh, who becomes only the third player in NBA history to earn five trips to the All-Star Game with two different teams (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett).

Butler, who leads the NBA in minutes (39.5 per game) and has raised his scoring average from 13.1 points in 2013-14 to 20.1 points this season, makes his first All-Star appearance. Irving, the MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game, is an All-Star for the third time in four NBA seasons.

The East and West All-Star coaches and coaching staffs were determined by the best record in the conference through games played on Sunday, February 1.  Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach the East, and Golden State’s Steve Kerr and his staff will lead the West.

The East's starters will be John Wall (Washington Wizards), Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors), LeBron James (Cavaliers), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), and Pau Gasol (Bulls).

The starters selected in the West were Curry (Warriors), Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), Blake Griffin (Clippers), and Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies).  However, Bryant had shoulder surgery today and will not be available to play.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select Bryant's replacement, and coach Kerr will determine who replaces him in the starting lineup.

The 64th NBA All-Star Game will tip off Sunday, February 15, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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