New York, UNITED STATES, January 30 (AP) - Due to Chris Webber's ankle injury, Peja Stojakovic will be an All-Star for the second straight season.
NBA commissioner David Stern selected
Stojakovic as Webber's replacement Thursday,
allowing the Sacramento Kings to remain
represented on the court at the league's
showcase event.
Webber will miss at least three weeks with a
sprained left ankle, the same injury that sidelined
him for the first 20 games last season. He is
averaging 23 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.5
assists for the Pacific Division-leading Kings.
Stojakovic is the team's third-leading scorer, averaging 18.0 points.
"I feel bad taking Chris' spot. He's a great player and he's going to be out a
couple of weeks. We need him bad for this team," Stojakovic said. "On the
other hand, I feel honored to make it for the second year. Being on the
All-Star team is a dream for every player."
Webber went up for a hook shot over Utah's Scott Padgett and appeared to
come down on Padgett's foot in the second quarter of a 102-92 loss to the
Jazz on Tuesday night. Webber limped off the court with help from two
teammates with 10:33 left in the period and did not return.
Webber stayed in Sacramento instead of traveling with the Kings to Seattle
for their game Thursday night.
Predrag Stojakovic
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Stojakovic was a reserve on last year's Western Conference team and
scored 11 points in 18 minutes. The Kings' other representative will be
coach Rick Adelman.
The selection of Stojakovic (Yugoslavia) brings the number of international
players in the game to six - one more than last year's record total. The
NBA lists San Antonio's Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) as an
international player. The others are Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas
(Lithuania), Dallas' Steve Nash (Canada) and Dirk Nowitzki
(Germany) and Houston's Yao Ming (China).
