LeBron James and Kobe Bryant chat during the 2012 All-Star Game (Ronald Martinez/ Getty).
From February 15 to 17, the NBA will descend upon Houston for its annual All-Star Game. With only a month left until the event, the participants at the weekend's various events are beginning to come into focus. On Thursday night, the NBA revealed the stars of the show: the All-Star Game starters, as voted by the league's many fans around the world.
For the third time in his career, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was the leading vote-getter overall. With 1,591,437 votes, Kobe beat out Miami Heat superstar LeBron James by fewer than 8,000 votes to become the winner of the NBA's ultimate popularity contest. While virtually all analysts would agree that James is the superior player, Bryant is having one of his best offensive seasons in years, leading the NBA in scoring at 29.9 points per game. In 17 seasons, Kobe has now made 15 All-Star teams (and would almost certainly have 16 appearances if they'd played the game during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season).
[More NBA news: NBPA head Billy Hunter under investigation]
After the jump, check out the rest of the starters, as well as some thoughts on whether or not they deserve the honor.
Read More »from Kobe Bryant and LeBron James headline 2013 NBA All-Star Game starters