Doncic received the most fan ballots among guards in the Western Conference.

Thursday night, Mavericks star Luka Doncic was designated a starter for the NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis on February 18th, as anticipated.

This is Doncic’s fourth time being designated a starter and fifth time being selected to the All-Star Game. Doncic finished second among Western Conference guards in media voting, trailing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City. Doncic received the most fan ballots among Western Conference guards.

Doncic is second in the NBA in scoring with 33.6 points per game, third in assists with 9.3, and leads the team in rebounds with 8.5.

Doncic received an invitation to the TNT studio shortly after the formal starters were announced, following the Mavericks’ arrival in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. The Mavericks will face the Hawks on Friday night.

“Every time I’m there,” Doncic said of his previous four All-Star selections. “I recall that my parents wouldn’t let me watch the All-Star Game when I was a child. It was approximately 3 a.m.

Being in the NBA was my only aspiration. It was my first year and I had no idea where I would end up. However, my only happiness was to be in this location and to compete at the highest level of basketball.

With a starting lineup, he will amass the same number of starts as every other Mavericks player in the franchise’s 44-year history, assuming he remains healthy.

Both of Dirk Nowitzki’s All-Star Games were starts. Adam Jason Kidd initiated one. Kyrie Irving started the game in Salt Lake City last February, days after being acquired from Brooklyn by the Mavericks, and recorded 32 points and 15 assists.

Doncic, who is 24 years old, becomes the fourth player in addition to Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Isiah Thomas, and Anthony Davis to earn five All-Star selections prior to turning 25.

Additionally, Doncic surpassed Rolando Blackman (4) to become the Mavericks’ second-most-selected All-Star. With fourteen All-Star appearances, Nowitzki is the only player in franchise history to have received five or more consecutive All-Star nominations; he did so for eleven consecutive seasons from 2002 to 2012.