Kevin Durant Will Start In NBA All-Star Game

By Tim Taliaferro in Blog on January 28, 2011 at 4:16 pm | No Comments

Long, lanky, lovable former Longhorn Kevin Durant will start for the Western Conference in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, the league announced last night.

It will be Durant’s second appearance as an All-Star and his first time to start.

The boy-wonder who spent one glorious season with the Horns before ascending to the NBA earned the most votes of any Western Conference forward.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star leads the league in scoring with 28.6 points a game and has propelled his young squad to the Northwest Division’s best 28-16 record.

In December, Durant was named USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year. Goes with the rest of his trophies, no?

Durant is only the second former Longhorn to start in an NBA All-Star game. Guard Slater Martin did it last in 1959.

Another former Longhorn may also be in this year’s game backing up Durant. LaMarcus Aldridge, a forward with the Portland Trailblazers, is a strong candidate for a spot on the Western Conference’s reserve list, which will be announced next week.

The 2011 All-Star Game will be the league’s 60th and will be played at the Staples Center in L.A. Feb. 20.

If Durant plays like he did last year, when he scored 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting, look for the West to come out on top.

Photo courtesy of UT Athletics