Read the full story on SportsLook - Rosters for the 2024 B.League All-Star Game are Unveiled
Lineups for the 2024 B.League All-Star Game are now out.
Fan votes for the starters were tabulated from November 1 to December 6.
B.League All-Star Weekend festivities will be held January 12-14, 2024, at Okinawa Arena. That is the home of the reigning champion Ryukyu Golden Kings and one of the venues for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The popular Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Dunk Contest are set to be held on January 13, the same date as the B.League Asia Rising Star Game.
On tap for January 14 is the B.League Under-18 All-Star Game, a showcase for the pro league's U-18 circuit's players. After that, the marquee event tips off at 3:15 PM in Okinawa City.
Now in its eighth season, the B.League promotes its teams and players on a nationwide scale with the various All-Star festivities and fan voting leading up to the midseason extravaganza.
As reported by the B.League in a news release on December 8, a total of 16,610,940 fan votes were cast for All-Star Game player selections. Overall, this is roughly a 100% increase from 2022.
Who finished No 1 among players from the B.League's 24 top-division teams in All-Star voting?
Utsunomiya Brex shooting guard Makoto Hiejima with 473,282 votes, a league record for All-Star voting.
Hiejima, one of the key veteran players on Japan's Basketball World Cup squad, is averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists for the Brex, one of the top teams in the East.
As the top vote-getter, he was named captain of B.Black. The other All-Star squad is B.White.
Grateful to be Selected to Play in the B.League All-Star Game
Hiejima, a seven-time All-Star selection, expressed gratitude to fans for selecting him as a starter. The B.League released comments from All-Stars reacting to the news of being chosen.
"Thank you to everyone who voted," he said. "I'm happy to be able to participate on the All-Star team this season as a starter, [and] I'm going to enjoy myself while playing so that everyone can have fun."
Also selected as starters for B.Black: Ryukyu Golden Kings guard Ryuichi Kishimoto (10.8 points, 2.6 assists; a four-time All-Star pick), Sunrockers Shibuya big man Josh Hawkinson (17.9 points, 7.7 rebounds), Ryukyu shooting guard/small forward Keita Imamura (13.9 points, 3.6 assists) and SeaHorses Mikawa shooting guard/small forward Yudai Nishida (11.7 points, 2.0 assists).
"Thank you for all your votes," Kishimoto commented. "I hope it will be a wonderful time for the players playing, the fans who come to watch, and everyone involved in hosting the All-Star Games. Let's make Okinawa even more exciting through [All-Star Weekend]!
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
