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With millions of people across the globe participating in the NBAs All-Star balloting process each year, it may be tempting for some basketball fans to believe that their vote ultimately doesnt make a difference in the final results. In the case of Chris Paul this year, however, recent prolific voting by Hornets fans in New Orleans helped push the 6-foot point guard to an All-Star start. During its NBA pregame show Thursday, TNTs studio crew announced that the 25-year-old Paul will make his fourth All-Star appearance on Feb. 20 in Los Angeles. Its the second time hes been voted a Western Conference starting guard by fans.
Despite New Orleans status as the smallest city in the NBA, the Hornets actually led the entire 30-team league in total number of All-Star ballots that were filled out in their arena. Over a two-month span from mid-November to mid-January, over 232,000 ballots were cast in the New Orleans Arena, an in-arena tally that was larger than any team. By the middle of January, Paul had built a seemingly insurmountable lead in the race for the No. 2 spot among Western Conference guards, trailing only Kobe Bryant but well ahead of Manu Ginobili.
Paul has now been selected to play in the All-Star Game each year since 2008, when the midseason classic was hosted by New Orleans. He was a reserve in 08, but voted a starter by fans in 09. Last season, Paul finished third in balloting among West guards, with roughly 1 million votes. Steve Nash claimed the other guard spot a year ago by accumulating 1.2 million votes. While Paul officially learned hed be an All-Star on Thursday, the All-Star reserves will be determined next week by a vote of each respective conferences head coaches. The coaches cannot vote for anyone who plays for their team.
