The NBA's best players get a chance to show off their skills on Sunday, as the Western Conference and Eastern Conference battle in the 57th annual All-Star Game at New Orleans Arena.

In the 2007 annual event, Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, dished out six assists and collected six steals to lead the West to an easy 153-132 win over the East in the All-Star Game at the Thomas & Mack Center. Bryant was named the MVP of the contest for leading a West team that registered an All-Star game record 52 assists and fell just two points short of its own All-Star game record for points -- 155 set in 2003.

The West has won four of the last six All-Star contests overall.

Orlando's Dwight Howard, Cleveland's LeBron James and Boston's Kevin Garnett were voted in by the fans as the starting frontcourt for the Eastern Conference, while Dwyane Wade of the Heat and New Jersey's Jason Kidd make up a strong starting backcourt.

Garnett, who was acquired by the Celtics from Minnesota in a blockbuster trade during the offseason, will not be playing in this year's contest. The 6-11 forward played in 10 All-Star Games as a member of the Western Conference. He is hampered by an abdominal strain, and is averaging 19.2 points and a team- best 9.9 rebounds in 41 contests for Boston this season..

Howard will be starter for the first time in an NBA All-Star contest and will be playing in his second game, while James, who was the 2003-04 NBA Rookie of the Year, will be playing in his fourth NBA All-Star Game,

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace was selected by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace the injured Garnett, who was the MVP in the 2003 game in Atlanta. Wallace, who will come off the bench for the East, will be appearing in his fourth All-Star game, and averaged just 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in the previous three contests.

The Eastern Conference backcourt has plenty of All-Star Game experience, Wade, who was the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals, will be playing in his fourth contest, while Kidd will play in his eighth. Last year, Kidd was named as a reserve to the East squad, However, Kidd was sidelined with a back injury and did not play in the contest. The versatile Kidd has been voted as a starter four times (1996, 2000, 2001, 2008) and as a reserve five times.

The bench for the East has plenty of scoring and overall talent. Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce of the Celtics, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison of the Wizards, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons were selected as the reserves for the East.

Butler will not be playing in the contest because of a strained left hip flexor. The Connecticut product missed Washington's last five games prior to the break. Boston's Ray Allen was selected to replace Butler. The sharp- shooting Allen will appear in his eight NBA All-Star Game.

Billups, Toronto's Chris Bosh, who started in last year's contest, and Hamilton are all participating in their third game, while Jamison and Johnson will be playing in their second NBA All-Star Game.

Bosh, who was originally selected as a reserve, will start in place of the injured Garnett for the East.

The 30-year-old Pierce has the most All-Star Game experience on the East bench. The Kansas product will be playing in his sixth All-Star Game. He has averaged 10.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his five previous outings.

Boston's Doc Rivers is the head coach for the Eastern Conference squad. Rivers is in his fourth season with Boston. He guided the Celtics to the playoffs during the 2004-05 campaign, when Boston finished 45-37 during the regular season and was eliminated in seven games by Indiana in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Western Conference has an explosive starting lineup with a lot of offensive power. The starting frontcourt for the West consists of Houston center Yao Ming and forwards Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Denver's Carmelo Anthony. Allen Iverson of the Nuggets and the Lakers' Bryant, who also won the MVP of this contest in 2002 at Philadelphia, make up a scary backcourt.

Yao did not participate in last year's game because of a non displaced fracture in a bone under his right knee. The 7-6 Yao will be in the starting lineup for a fifth time for the West. In his four previous All-Star Games, Yao has averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Duncan, who shared MVP honors with Shaquille O'Neal in the 2000 contest in Oakland, is making his 10th All-Star appearance, while Anthony will play in just his second contest. The 6-10 Anthony scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in last year's contest.

The 29-year-old Bryant, who was the youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998, is making his 10th straight All-Star appearance, all as a starter. The superstar guard, who has a dislocated pinkie finger on his right hand, has averaged an impressive 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the previous nine contests.

Iverson will be playing for the second time as a member of the West. The Georgetown product, who was acquired by Denver from Philadelphia in a blockbuster deal on December 19, 2006, has won the MVP twice (2001, 2005) for this event and had played seven All-Star contests for the East, all as a starter. The six-foot Iverson was a reserve for the West in last year's game.

Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, reigning NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks, Utah's Carlos Boozer, Portland's Brandon Roy and Chris Paul and David West of the Hornets give the West a versatile bench without a true center as a reserve. Stoudemire and Nowitzki will both spell Yao, while Duncan, who is a starter, is also capable of filling that role if needed.

Paul, who leads the Hornets in scoring and assists, West and Roy will all be making their NBA All-Star Game debuts. Stoudemire is appearing in his third, Nowitzki his seventh and Nash in his fifth. Boozer was supposed to be a reserve in last year's contest, but did not play because of an injury. The 6-8 Boozer will make his All-Star Game debut.

New Orleans head coach Byron Scott is the general for the Western Conference squad. Scott is in his fourth year as head coach of the Hornets. He joined the Hornets on May 28, 2004 after three-and-a-half seasons in New Jersey, where he guided the Nets to the NBA Finals (2002, 2003). In the 2002 annual event, Scott coached the East All-Stars.

The starters for Sunday's contest were determined by the fans' votes, while the 30 head coaches in the NBA voted for the reserves in their respective conferences after the starting players for each squad were finalized.

Head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams are based on teams with the best winning-percentage in each conference following the games on February 3rd. Phoenix head coach Mike D'Antoni and Washington Head Coach Eddie Jordan were not eligible to coach in this seasons contest because they coached in last year's game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Paul and West for the Western Conference. They will be playing in front of their fans, and have a chance to shine with the league and all of the NBA's fans watching. Paul has emerged as one of the most dynamic, electrifying point guards in the NBA, while West is a hard-working power forward who has helped New Orleans become one of the top teams in the league this season.

Howard has become one of the most dominant big men in the NBA. The 22-year-old Howard scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the East in last year's contest, which was his first All-Star Game. He has led the Southeast Division-leading Magic throughout the season, and should showcase his impressive talents in the annual event.

NOTABLE

Nash (Canada), Nowitzki (Germany), Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Yao (China) gives the 2008 NBA All-Star Game four international players.

Anthony, Bosh, James, Wade and West are all members of the 2003 NBA Draft Class. James was selected first by Cleveland, Anthony third by Denver, Bosh went No. 4 to Toronto, the Heat grabbed Wade with the fifth overall pick and West was around at No. 18 for the Hornets.

In the previous 56 All-Star Games, 16 players from the host city's team have been named MVP of the contest. The last player to achieve this honor was Shaq in 2004 at the Staples Center, when he was a member of the Lakers.

Six times a 2008 All-Star won the Game's MVP. Bryant (2002, 2007), Iverson (2001, 2005), James (2006) and Duncan (2000).

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