Bryant, Howard lead All-Star Balloting in final update

• Complete All-Star Ballot update | Vote!

NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder top the Western Conference, while Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the fourth returns of 2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. Bryant, The Finals MVP last season, is the overall leader with 1,757,216 votes.

This marks the final balloting update. Starters will be announced live on TNT on Jan. 27, during a special one-hour pregame show at 7 P.M. ET featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. Following the completion of fan voting and the starting line-up announcement, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Feb 3, prior to a TNT doubleheader.

The 2011 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011.

In the Western Conference, Bryant, a three-time All-Star MVP, who garnered the honor in 2002, 2007 and 2009, is followed at guard by the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul (949,049). Durant, a member of last year's All-NBA First Team, paces forwards in the West (1,270,729), with the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony (945,720) second. The Houston Rockets' Yao Ming (928,928) is the leading vote-getter among Western Conference centers, with the Lakers' Andrew Bynum (660,576) placing second.

Howard, the leading vote-getter in the Eastern Conference with 1,537,619 votes, paces centers in the East, followed by the Boston Celtics' Shaquille O'Neal (639,661). James, a two-time All-Star MVP (2006, 2008), leads all Eastern Conference forwards with 1,518,807 votes, followed by the New York Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire (1,143,391). The Heat's Dwyane Wade, last year's All-Star Game MVP, paces all guards with 1,499,768 votes; the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose is second among guards in the East (1,225,575). Stoudemire passed Boston's Kevin Garnett (1,049,544) since the third balloting update was announced Jan. 6, while Rose leapfrogged the Celtics' Rajon Rondo (1,171,311). All other potential starters for both teams remain unchanged from the previous update.

2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, with associate partner 2K Sports, allows fans around the world to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game. Paper balloting will continue through Jan. 17, while wireless balloting and voting on NBA.com will conclude Jan. 23. There are several ways fans can cast their votes, including: at each NBA arena; in 20 languages on NBA.com; and through mobile phones by texting the player's last name to 6-9-6-2-2 ("MYNBA") or by visiting m.nba.com on any wireless carrier.

For SMS voting, fans can vote for All-Stars any time by texting a player's last name from their mobile phones on any wireless carrier. Fans can cast one SMS vote per day, per phone number. Message and data rates may apply. T-Mobile customers will receive an exclusive 15 percent discount code to NBAStore.com for voting via SMS voting. Upon voting, T-Mobile customers will get a bounceback message with a discount code for them to use on NBAStore.com.

Fans can vote directly on NBA.com or use their Facebook profile information to help create an NBA.com All-Access account, which enables them to complete a ballot. After submitting their All-Star selections, fans will have the ability to share them with their friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter, and encourage others to cast their ballots.

The NBA All-Star ballot lists 120 players -- 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences -- with 24 guards, 24 forwards, and 12 centers from each conference comprising the list. Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media who regularly cover the NBA: J.A. Adande (ESPN.com), Marv Albert (TNT), Art Garcia (NBA.com) Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports), Doug Smith (The Toronto Star) and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustrated).

NBA All-Star 2011 in Los Angeles will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league's history for a global celebration of the game. The week leading up to the 60th NBA All-Star Game will feature a full slate of community-enhancing activities, fan festivals and events, including the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service, the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, and NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm. NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas, the hugely successful interactive basketball celebration, will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center. Los Angeles and the STAPLES Center will host NBA All-Star 2011, marking the fifth time The City of Angels and the second time STAPLES Center will be the site of the annual celebration. STAPLES Center last played host to NBA All-Star in 2004, and L.A. also hosted the All-Star Game in 1963, 1972, and 1983.

In conjunction with All-Star Balloting, 2K Sports will give fans the opportunity to experience Los Angeles and the best of basketball by entering the NBA® 2K11 Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2011 and have their likeness as a digitized player incorporated in next year's game, NBA® 2K12.

Results as of Jan. 13, 2011:

2011 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE	2011 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards:	Forwards:
LeBron James  (Heat)  1,518,807 Amar'e Stoudemire  (Knicks)  1,143,391 Kevin Garnett  (Celtics)  1,049,544 Paul Pierce  (Celtics)  578,473 Chris Bosh  (Heat)  427,551 Carlos Boozer  (Bulls)  320,661 Josh Smith  (Hawks)  280,158 Danilo Gallinari  (Knicks)  259,619 Danny Granger  (Pacers)  201,653 Luol Deng  (Bulls)  191,312	Kevin Durant  (Thunder)  1,270,729 Carmelo Anthony  (Nuggets)  945,720 Pau Gasol  (Lakers)  851,456 Blake Griffin  (Clippers)  702,784 Tim Duncan  (Spurs)  663,487 Dirk Nowitzki  (Mavericks)  615,243 Lamar Odom  (Lakers)  364,950 Luis Scola  (Rockets)  347,986 Kevin Love  (T-Wolves)  301,529 Caron Butler  (Mavericks)  205,146
Guards:	Guards:
Dwyane Wade  (Heat)  1,499,768 Derrick Rose  (Bulls)  1,225,575 Rajon Rondo  (Celtics)  1,171,311 Ray Allen  (Celtics)  630,588 John Wall  (Wizards)  260,893 Brandon Jennings  (Bucks)  254,614 Raymond Felton  (Knicks)  246,208 Gilbert Arenas  (Magic)  240,586 Jamal Crawford  (Hawks)  163,971 Darren Collison  (Pacers)  156,230	Kobe Bryant  (Lakers)  1,757,216 Chris Paul  (Hornets)  949,049 Manu Ginobili  (Spurs)  593,718 Steve Nash  (Suns)  522,215 Deron Williams  (Jazz)  487,887 Russell Westbrook  (Thunder)  463,250 Tony Parker  (Spurs)  355,993 Jason Kidd  (Mavericks)  303,164 Vince Carter  (Suns)  277,430 Kevin Martin  (Rockets)  266,037
Centers:	Centers:
Dwight Howard  (Magic)  1,537,619 Shaquille O'Neal  (Celtics)  639,661 Joakim Noah  (Bulls)  291,107 Andrew Bogut  (Bucks)  245,253 Al Horford  (Hawks)  193,449 Roy Hibbert  (Pacers)  183,092 Andrea Bargnani  (Raptors)  162,364 Brook Lopez  (Nets)  125,022 JaVale McGee  (Wizards)  106,710 Ben Wallace  (Pistons)  79,017	Yao Ming  (Rockets)  928,928 Andrew Bynum  (Lakers)  660,576 Nene  (Nuggets)  389,263 Marc Gasol  (Grizzlies)  352,136 Emeka Okafor  (Hornets)  317,677 Brendan Haywood  (Mavericks)  276,777 Marcus Camby  (Trail Blazers)  201,133 Chris Kaman  (Clippers)  165,684 Andris Biedrins  (Warriors)  126,567 DeMarcus Cousins  (Kings)  110,230