New York, NY – The Lakers' Kobe Bryant was the leading vote- getter and earned his record 15th straight All-Star selection.
The starters for the 2013 All-Star Game were announced Thursday and joining Bryant, who received 1,591,437 votes to edge out Miami's LeBron James (1,583,646), on the Western Conference squad is teammate Dwight Howard.
Bryant broke a tie with Jerry West, Karl Malone and Shaquille O'Neal for the most consecutive All-Star nods.
The Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul will be Bryant's partner at the guard position in the starting lineup, while Paul's teammate, Blake Griffin, and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, the reigning All-Star Game MVP, round out the West's frontcourt.
In addition to James, the East's frontcourt features New York's Carmelo Anthony and Boston's Kevin Garnett. The guards are Miami's Dwyane Wade and the Celtics' Rajon Rondo.
The reserves will be announced on Jan. 24.
The 62nd NBA All-Star Game will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 17.
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