NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2012 – Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat top the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Western Conference after the first returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting. Howard, the Kia Defensive Player of the Year each of the past three seasons, is the overall leader with 754,737 votes.
Howard paces centers in the East, followed by the Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah (75,038). James leads Eastern Conference forwards with 640,789 votes, followed by Carmelo Anthony (496,351) of the New York Knicks. Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls leads Eastern Conference guards with 640,476 votes, followed by Miami’s Dwyane Wade (637,912).
Bryant’s 690,613 votes leads Western Conference guards, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul placing second (540,173). Durant’s 633,538 votes lead forwards in the West, with Blake Griffin of the Clippers next in line with 394,264 votes. The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum paces Western Conference centers with 496,597 votes, followed by the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (134,961).
The 61st NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio, will be played at the Amway Center on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.
Fans can vote daily for their favorite Bulls players at Bulls.com/VoteBulls and through their mobile phones by texting the player's last name (ROSE, NOAH, DENG, BOOZER or HAMILTON) to 6-9-6-2-2 ("MYNBA") or by visiting m.NBA.com on any wireless carrier. Message and data rates may apply.
The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the first returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting are as follows:
Eastern Conference
Guards
Forwards
Centers
Western Conference
Guards
Forwards
Centers