Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid named starter for 2018 NBA All-Star game

PHILADELPHIA - The NBA announced today that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2018 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. It's Embiid's first All-Star game selection, while he is the first 76ers player to be named a starter since Allen Iverson in 2010-11 and the first 76er to appear in an All-Star game since Jrue Holiday in 2012-13.

This season, Embiid is averaging 23.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. His averages of points, rebounds and blocks rank him 13th, seventh and fifth in the NBA, respectively. Embiid is one of two Eastern Conference players and one of five leaguewide averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, joining fellow All-Star starter Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee. He is on pace to become the first 76ers player to post such averages for a full season since Hall of Famer Charles Barkley in 1991-92.

The Cameroon native has scored at least 30 points in seven games this season, which is the most by a 76ers player in a single season since Iverson had eight in 2006-07. Embiid scored a career-high 46 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 15 in addition to posting 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks. He became the first NBA player since blocks became an official statistic in 1973-74 to post a 46-15-7-7 stat line.

Embiid has scored in double figures in 46 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Philadelphia player in the past five seasons.

The University of Kansas product holds career averages of 22.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 blocks, and was named to the 2016-17 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

The Eastern Conference and Western Conference starters for the 67th NBA All-Star Game were revealed tonight on TNT. The network will also unveil the All-Star reserves on Thursday, Jan. 25. The 2018 NBA All-Star Game is at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 18 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on TNT and ESPN Radio.

Embiid finished with 1,285,587 fan votes (third in the East frontcourt), 66 media votes (third in East frontcourt) and 94 player votes (fourth in East frontcourt)

Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 2018 NBA All-Star Game starters, while current players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each.

After the votes were tallied, players were ranked in each conference by position (backcourt and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups -- fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player's score was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the three voting categories. The five players (two backcourt and three frontcourt players) with the best score in each conference were named NBA All-Star Game starters.