Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James will captain a Western Conference squad whose starters also include Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

"NBA All-Star in Atlanta will continue our annual tradition of celebrating the game and the greatest players in the world before a global audience," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

After making the grade for this year's All-Star lineup, the 26-yearold Jokic posted a video on Weibo to express his gratitude to fans in China－although the Serbian's attempts to speak in Chinese proved considerably more difficult than draining a 3-pointer.

"I'm Jokic, Teacher Jo (his Chinese nickname). And go Nuggets! I love you all!" said Jokic, who needed the help of an interpreter to say the simple sentences.

Chinese NBA fans' fervor for the All-Star vote can be traced back to the time when Yao Ming played in the league. The Chinese legend joined the Houston Rockets in 2002 and played his first All-Star game in 2003.