The NBA released its first round of All-Star voting on Thursday afternoon, result shows the
Shift between generations in the league.
Finally, the long wait is over for NBA fans. The NBA finally released the first round of All-Star voting on Thursday afternoon. LeBron James and Stephen Curry, two of the biggest and popular names in the league ranked third in their respective position. With 1.17 million votes, LeBron James is presently in third rank in the Western Conference frontcourt voting.
Los Angeles Lakers power forward James remained on the starting spot, following Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who heads on top with 1.4 million votes, and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant seized second rank with 1.27 million votes.
James’ teammate Anthony Davis and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, both have amassed over 90,000 votes, are trailing behind James with a solid difference.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Leads the Eastern Conference
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo again topped the chart and is leading the voting with 1.7 million votes. He broke LeBron James’ seven-year streak as the top vote-getter last season, and he again dominated this year.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum closely followed him with 1.38 million votes and will make his sixth consecutive All-Star Game. With just over 1 million votes, New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns rounds out the top three.
Stephen Curry Seized Third Position, Faced Strong Competition for Starting Spot
Stephen Curry ranks third in the Western Conference backcourt, with 870,071 votes. He could be in danger of coming off the bench for the second consecutive year. Oklahoma Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topped the chart with 1.05 million votes, followed by Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, who collected 930,000 votes.
However, Doncic is predicted to miss several weeks due to a calf sprain, which might end up with Curry securing the starting spot in the All-Star Game, which will take place in February in San Fransisco.
Backcourt Battle in the East
LaMelo Ball and Donovan Mitchell closely contested in the East backcourt for the starting spot. While LaMelo Ball secured the top stop with just under 1 million votes, Donovan Mitchell of the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers is ahead of Damian Lillard of the Bucks for the second rank with just 13,000 votes.
Jalen Brunson ranked fourth with just under 500,000 votes and Trae Young ranked fifth with just over 350,000.
Voting totals will be updated again on Jan 9 and Jan 16, and the voting will be concluded on Monday, Jan 20. Voting of fans accounts for 50% of the total vote for the All-Star Starters, and media and player votes each contribute 25% to the vote.
NBA will announce the starter for both conferences on Jan 23, and for reserves, a week later.
