NEW YORK, Dec. 26 – Toronto’s Vince Carter leads all players in the Eastern Conference and Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers leads all players in the Western Conference in votes received after the second returns in the NBA All-Star 2002 balloting program.

The fans, through the NBA All-Star 2002 balloting program, will determine starters for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, to be played at The First Union Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, February 10.

Carter leads all players in votes received with 616,104 at forward in the East, followed by Orlando forward Grant Hill (215,073). Philadelphia's Dikembe Mutombo leads all Eastern Conference centers with 257,277, followed by Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal (144,499), while Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson leads all East guards with 370,118 votes, followed by Washington's Michael Jordan (360,174).

Vince Carter leads all players in All-Star Balloting
Ron Hoskins/NBA/Getty Images
O’Neal is tops among Western Conference centers with 530,214 votes, followed by Sacramento's Vlade Divac (105,402). Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett leads all West forwards with 383,183 votes, followed by San Antonio's Tim Duncan (283,877). L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant (475,121) and Houston's Steve Francis (186,178) lead all West guards.

NBA All-Star Balloting began on November 15 and in addition to being distributed in all 29 NBA arenas, NBA All-Star ballots have their greatest online reach ever with ballots available on NBA.com and America Online (AOL Keyword: NBA All-Star). Sprite.com, champssports.com, and reebok.com also provide links to the NBA.com All-Star Balloting page. Ballots are available at 573 Champs Sports stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Sprite has encouraged fans to cast All-Star ballots by promoting balloting on 40 million two and three liter bottles. Fans outside of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico can vote for their favorite players online through NBA.com.

Balloting for this year’s All-Star game will continue through January 13, and updated results for the Eastern and Western Conferences will be issued weekly concluding with the announcement of the All-Star starters on Saturday, January 26. After the fan voting is completed and the starters are announced, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conferences. The 2002 NBA All-Star Game will be broadcast on NBC, CTV in Canada, ESPN RADIO and audio in several languages on NBA.com on Sunday, February 10 at 5 p.m. ET.

Below are the leaders among the Eastern and Western Conference players in the second returns of the NBA All-Star 2002 voting program:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Vince Carter (Tor) 616,104; Grant Hill (Orl) 215,073; Antoine Walker (Bos) 177,965; Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Atl) 127,296; Kenyon Martin (NJ) 74,119; Glenn Robinson (Mil) 70,880; Keith Van Horn (NJ) 57,099; Antonio Davis (Tor) 53,385; Clifford Robinson (Det) 38,108; Jamal Mashburn (Cha) 34,746.

Guards: Allen Iverson (Phi) 370,118; Michael Jordan (Was) 360,174; Tracy McGrady (Orl) 204,974; Jason Kidd (NJ) 155,694; Ray Allen (Mil) 155,415; Paul Pierce (Bos) 79,220; Latrell Sprewell (NY) 50,692; Jerry Stackhouse (Det) 46,925; Reggie Miller (Ind) 32,101; Baron Davis (Cha) 31,662.

Centers: Dikembe Mutombo (Phi) 257,277; Jermaine O'Neal (Ind) 144,499; Alonzo Mourning (Mia) 121,267; Hakeem Olajuwon (Tor) 88,564; Marcus Camby (NY) 88,363; Ben Wallace (Det) 47,100; Patrick Ewing (Orl) 34,619; Ervin Johnson (Mil) 18,019; Elden Campbell (Cha) 15,296; Theo Ratliff (Atl) 15,223.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Min) 383,183; Tim Duncan (SA) 283,877; Chris Webber (Sac) 207,953; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 135,047; Peja Stojakovic (Sac) 119,220; Elton Brand (LAC) 64,993; Rasheed Wallace (Por) 63,567; Scottie Pippen (Por) 62,239; Shawn Marion (Pho) 50,901; Rick Fox (LAL) 49,029.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 475,121; Steve Francis (Hou) 186,178; Gary Payton (Sea) 138,143; Stephon Marbury (Pho) 121,335; Michael Finley (Dal) 93,466; Anfernee Hardaway (Pho) 91,035; Mike Bibby (Sac) 84,987; Nick Van Exel (Den) 67,383; Steve Nash (Dal) 67,171; Jason Williams (Mem) 66,067.

Centers: Shaquille O’Neal (LAL) 530,214; Vlade Divac (Sac) 105,402; David Robinson (SA) 93,675; Lorenzen Wright (Mem) 24,693; Shawn Bradley (Dal) 19,025; Dale Davis (Por) 18,334; Raef LaFrentz (Den) 18,004;; John Amaechi (Utah) 14,983; Michael Olowokandi (LAC) 13,704; Kelvin Cato (Hou) 11,885.
TOP 10 OVERALL
Vince Carter (Tor) 616,104
Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) 530,214
Kobe Bryant (LAL) 475,121
Kevin Garnett (Min) 383,183
Allen Iverson (Phi) 370,118
Michael Jordan (Was) 360,174
Tim Duncan (SA) 283,877
Dikembe Mutombo (Phi) 257,277
Grant Hill (Orl) 215,073
Chris Webber (Sac) 207,953