Kyrie Irving Thanks Fans For All-Star Votes In Debut TikTok Video
By Melanie VanDerveer on January 27, 2023 at 8:45 PM EST
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has made it to TikTok!
In his debut video on the platform, Irving thanks all who voted for him to be in the 2023 NBA All-Star game. It was recently announced that Irving would be one of the East starters.
Kyrie Irving Thanked Fans For The All-Star Votes
"I just want to start off this video by saying thank you to everyone who voted for me, for some of my teammates, to be in the All-Star Game," he began his first TikTok video. "You know, it's an incredible accomplishment that I don't take for granted. I can't do it without everybody at home doing whatever it takes to vote me in. Really, really cannot do it without your support, without your genuine love."
The video then shows a montage of clips of Irving playing and fans talking about Irving. "He's about to put on a show for y'all," one fan said. Another chimed in with, "Like, he's just so inspirational."
Irving then closes out the video by saying, "So this is a celebration that I can say we did it together. So thank you for voting for me for the 2023 All-Star Game."
Irving posted his first TikTok just hours ago and it's already received nearly 200K views and more than 56K likes. Many of his fans dropped into the comments to leave messages of congrats, support, and love for the Nets guard.
"In kyrie we trust," one person wrote. "WELL WELL Deserved Kyrie I can’t wait to watch u ball out! U earned it," another added.
The 2023 NBA All-Star Game Is on February 19 in Salt Lake City
The NBA recently announced the two captains and eight other starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game that will be played in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023.
In addition to Irving, the East starters are Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), and team captain Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks).
The West starters consist of Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), and team caption, LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers).
Starters are chosen by fans, players, and selected media votes, with the fan vote counting 50 percent and the player and media votes each accounting for 25 percent of the vote.
Reported by USA Today, per the NBA, "Once votes are tallied, players are ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups. Each player's score is calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fans, players and media. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference are named starters. Fan votes serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score."
The 2023 All-Star Draft Will Happen Live Before The Game This Year For The First Time
This year's game has a unique twist to it. Earlier this week, the NBA announced that the All-Star draft for the game will take place live just before tipoff for the first time ever. TNT will air the draft as a live, pregame segment 30 minutes before the game begins. Each captain will pick their starters and reserves from each conference just before playing.
The @NBA and @TheNBPA announced today that TNT will air the 2023 NBA All-Star Draft as a new, live pregame segment at the 2023 #NBAAllStar Game on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 pm ET from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. pic.twitter.com/SuEw4mvfEE
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2023
The NBA All-Star Game is February 19 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah at 8 p.m. ET. The Rising Stars game is 9 p.m. on February 17, and the Skills Challenge, 3-point Contest and Slam Dunk event take place on February 18 at 8 p.m. ET, all on TNT.