How Many All Stars Are There in the NBA?

All-Star weekend is here and we want to know: how many All Stars are there in the NBA? We break it down by conference and position.

How Many All Stars Are There in the NBA?

There are 24 All Stars in the NBA. This is the maximum number of All Stars that can be in the NBA at any given time. All Stars are selected by a vote of the NBA’s head coaches. You need to be voted in by the coaches to be an All Star.

All-time All-Star appearances

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men’s professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (23 in the United States and 7 in Canada). It is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.

The NBA lists All-Star Game selections by year. All-Star appearances are also used to help determine home-court advantage in the NBA Finals: if one team has more players selected as All-Stars than the other, that team is said to have home-court advantage. The most recent All-Star Game was played on February 18th, 2018.

In total, there have been 321 players who have been selected to play in at least one All-Star Game. Of these 321 players, 311 of them were born in the United States and 10 were born outside of the United States. The 10 players born outside of the United States come from 7 different countries:
-Canada
-Croatia
-France
-Lithuania
-Serbia
-Sudan
-Turkey

The most represented country among all 321 players is the United States with 311 total appearances, followed by Canada with 7 total appearances, and then Croatia, France, Lithuania, Serbia, Sudan, and Turkey each with 1 appearance.

All-time All-Star starters

There have been a total of 419 starters in the NBA All-Star Game since it began in 1951. Of those 419 starters, 321 of them (76.7%) have beenAll-Stars in multiple seasons. A total of 244 different players have been selected to start in an NBA All-Star Game, meaning that 57.9% of all-time starters are repeats.

Here is the full list of all-time All-Star starters:

Player (years they were an All-Star starter)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980)
Bob Pettit (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961)
Wilt Chamberlain (1960, 1961, 1962)
Oscar Robertson (1961, 1962, 1963 1964 1965)
Elgin Baylor (1962 1963 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976)
Jerry West (1964 1966 1967 1968 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1980)
Julius Erving (1977 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020)
Larry Bird (1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020)
Magic Johnson(1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020)
Michael Jordan(1985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021 )
LeBron James(2005200620072008200920112012201320142015201620172018201920202021 )

As you can see from the list above, there have been some true legends of the game who have started in the NBA All-Star Game multiple times throughout their careers.

All-Star appearances by team

The following is a list of National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game appearances by team. As of the 2019 All-Star Game, a total of 283 different players had been selected to an All-Star roster in at least one of the All-Star Games.Having been in existence for more than 70 years, the NBA has seen players come and go, with some franchises seeing dozens of players earn the recognition, while others have only had a handful.

Boston Celtics: 34
Los Angeles Lakers: 32
Philadelphia 76ers: 28
Golden State Warriors: 27
Houston Rockets: 25
Chicago Bulls: 24
Miami Heat: 21
Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle SuperSonics: 20
San Antonio Spurs: 20
Atlanta Hawks: 19
Detroit Pistons: 16
New York Knicks: 16
Portland Trail Blazers: 16

Brooklyn Nets/New Jersey Nets: 15

Cleveland Cavaliers: 14

Utah Jazz : 14

How Many All Stars Are There in the NBA?

There are currently 24 all stars in the NBA. This number can change every year depending on who is selected to be an all star.

All-time All-Star appearances

Since the 1951–52 season, the NBA has held an annual exhibition basketball game to showcase its talent. This event, known as the NBA All-Star Game, features 24 of the league’s star players—12 from each conference. Selected by a combination of fans, head coaches, and a media panel, each All-Star receives the honor of starting regardless of position.

As of 2019, Michael Jordan holds the record for the most All-Star appearances of any player in NBA history with 14. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are tied for second with 13 appearances each.

Here is a list of all-time All-Star appearances as of 2019:

player | all-star appearances
——-|——————-
Michael Jordan | 14
Kobe Bryant | 13
LeBron James | 13
Dwyane Wade | 12
Karl Malone | 11

All-time All-Star starters

There have been 340 All-Star Game starters in NBA history. Of those 340, 157 have been All-Star Game starters more than once in their careers. The player with the most All-Star Game starts is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was a starter 18 times (1968, 1970–1976, 1977–1979, 1980–1981, 1982, 1983, 1985).

All-Star appearances by team

The Boston Celtics have the most selections with 50. The Celtic who have been selected the most times is Bob Cousy with 13 selections.

The second most selected team are the Los Angeles Lakers with 47 selections. The Laker who has been selected the most times is Kobe Bryant with 18 selections.

The Chicago Bulls have had 44 players selected as All-Stars. Michael Jordan was selected for the All-Star game a record 14 times.

The San Antonio Spurs have had 33 players selected as All-Stars. Tim Duncan is the Spur who has been selected the most often, having been picked 11 times.

How Many All Stars Are There in the NBA?

There are 24 All Stars in the NBA. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James are all All Stars. All Stars are the best players in the NBA and are selected by a vote.

All-time All-Star appearances

There have been a total of 560 All-Star appearances in the NBA. The most All-Star appearances is 62, held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The second most All-Star appearances is 60, held by LeBron James.

All-time All-Star starters

Since the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951, 419 players have been selected to start an All-Star Game. Of those 419 starters, 300 have been All-Stars in multiple seasons.

The player with the most All-Star starts is Kobe Bryant, who was chosen to start 18 times. LeBron James is second with 16 starts, followed by Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10 each).

Other notable players who have been named All-Star starters multiple times include Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant.

All-Star appearances by team

As of the 2019 All-Star Game, a total of 303 players have been selected to be All-Stars. Of these, 158 have been selected more than once.

The thirty franchises that currently make up the NBA have had a combined total of 293 All-Star appearances. The team with the most appearances is the Boston Celtics, with 41. The team with the fewest is the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets, with only two.