The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks during the second half against the Chicago Bulls on Monday in Milwaukee. (AP photo)

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall vote-getters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.

The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

“For me, it’s always a blessing just being part of All-Star weekend,” James told TNT on Thursday night.

James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are chosen.

The Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, jokes with a staff member during a training session before a today's game against the Charlotte Hornets in Paris on Thursday. (AP photo)

James is a starter for the 16th time, an NBA record. Being a 16-time All-Star also puts him third on the all-time appearance list, behind 19-time selection Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 18-timer Kobe Bryant.

James received 6,275,459 fan votes, edging Doncic for the West captain’s spot by 163,724 votes.

Antetokounmpo received 5,902,286 votes, easily the most in the race to be the captain from the East. Embiid got the second-most votes in the East at 3.1 million.

Fan voting, the NBA said, was up 7% from last year.

Siakam, Young and Doncic are all first-time All-Stars. Having the 21-year-old Young and the 20-year-old Doncic starting gives the NBA two starters those ages or younger for only the second time.