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NBA: Paul, Westbrook lead All-Star reserve choices

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Field Level Media/Reuters

Point guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook were traded for one another in July, and both are now All-Stars with their new teams.The NBA announced the All-Star reserves on Thursday night, and Paul, now with the Oklahoma City Thunder, was selected for the 10th time while Westbrook of the Houston Rockets was chosen for the ninth occasion.Westbrook&#x27;s first eight selections came for the Thunder, but the organization shipped him to the Rockets for Paul and a slew of draft picks as part of its rebuilding plan after dealing forward Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers. Westbrook was the All-Star Game MVP in both 2015 and 2016.Paul is an All-Star for the first time since 2016. He won All-Star MVP honors in 2013.Paul and Westbrook were among four Western Conference guards named as reserves in balloting by the NBA&#x27;s 30 head coaches. The All-Star Game is Feb. 16 in Chicago.Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was chosen for the fifth time, and Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell earned his first selection.Two Eastern Conference guards were selected, with Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry being named for the sixth time and Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons being chosen for the second time.The frontcourt reserves from Eastern Conference teams are the Miami Heat&#x27;s Bam Adebayo (first selection) and Jimmy Butler (fifth), the Milwaukee Bucks&#x27; Khris Middleton (second), the Indiana Pacers&#x27; Domantas Sabonis (first) and the Boston Celtics&#x27; Jayson Tatum (first).The frontcourt reserves selected from Western Conference teams are Rudy Gobert (first selection) of the Utah Jazz, Brandon Ingram (first) of the New Orleans Pelicans and Nikola Jokic (second) of the Denver Nuggets.The starters were announced on Jan. 23 with LeBron James (16th selection) of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo (fourth) of the Bucks named captains.The Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis matchup will include a televised draft on Feb. 6 in which James and Antetokounmpo will select their teams, regardless of conference affiliation.The other starters from Western Conference teams are Lakers power forward Anthony Davis (seventh selection), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (fourth), Rockets guard James Harden (eighth) and first-time All-Star guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.In addition to Antetokounmpo, the other starters from Eastern Conference squads are 76ers center Joel Embiid (third), Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (first), Celtics guard Kemba Walker (fourth) and Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young (first).Lakers coach Frank Vogel will coach Team LeBron while the coach for Team Giannis will be the leader of the team that has the second-best record in the East through games of Sunday. The Milwaukee Bucks have the best record in the East, but coach Mike Budenholzer is ineligible to be the selection because he was the coach last season.The Raptors -- coached by Nick Nurse -- have the second-best record entering games of Friday.Among the players passed over for the All-Star Game were Western Conference guards Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) and DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs) as well as Eastern Conference guards Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Derrick Rose (Detroit Pistons) and Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls) and center Andre Drummond (Pistons).<div>--Field Level Media</div><div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

Point guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook were traded for one another in July, and both are now All-Stars with their new teams.

Point guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook were traded for one another in July, and both are now All-Stars with their new teams.