NBA: Pau and Marc Gasol will both start this year's NBA All-Star Game
Last Updated: 23/01/15 1:21pm
Pau and Marc Gasol of Spain have been voted the first brothers to start the NBA All-Star Game, which will take place in New York on 15 February.
Pau Gasol of Chicago will start up front for the East alongside Cleveland’s LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks.
And Memphis’ Marc Gasol will line up next to Anthony Davis of New Orleans and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin in the frontcourt for the West.
Tom and Dick Van Arsdale played in the 1970 and 1971 games, but the Gasols, who were once traded for each other, are the first brothers who will both start.
Marc Gasol said: “Knowing that I will be facing my brother Pau for the opening tip, it will be a true accomplishment for our family, and a memory I will cherish for the rest of my career.”
The East will have two first-time starters at guard after Toronto's Kyle Lowry made a late surge in fan balloting.
Lowry has been rewarded for his hard-nosed play in leading the Raptors to a huge lead in the Atlantic Division and has passed regular All-Star starter Dwyane Wade of Miami in the voting.
Lowry will start alongside John Wall of Washington, who made the game for the first time last year and now makes his first start.
Stephen Curry made a late surge to pass James as the overall leading vote-getter.
The star of the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors, Curry ended up with more than 1.5 million votes, more than 42,000 ahead of James.
However, his partner in the backcourt for the West is uncertain because Kobe Bryant, who was voted to start, has a torn right rotator cuff.
That could rule Bryant out of his 17th All-Star appearance, second all-time behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar's 19.