Love and Rubio Among Western Conference Vote Leaders in 2014 NBA All-Star Balloting First Returns
Minneapolis/St. Paul – The NBA today announced Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is fourth among the Western Conference frontcourt with 275,506 votes received, while guard Ricky Rubio is eighth among Western Conference backcourt leaders with 63,096 votes after the first returns in the 2014 NBA All-Star Balloting program.
Love is averaging 23.9 points (7th in NBA) and a league-high 13.8 rebounds per game this season. He’s recorded a league-high 20 double-doubles, including posting one in 12 straight games, the longest active streak in the NBA. This season Love has recorded five games with 25+ points, 15+ rebounds, 5+ assists; the rest of the NBA has yet to record such a game.
Rubio is averaging 9.2 points, 8.4 assists (4th in NBA) and 2.9 steals (2nd) per game this season. Rubio has handed out double-digit assist totals in eight games this season, including dishing out a career-high 16 against Cleveland on Nov. 13. He has recorded five double-doubles this year, as well as posting his second career triple-double on Nov. 10 at Los Angeles.
LeBron James (609,336) of the Miami Heat and Paul George (489,335) of the Indiana Pacers top the Eastern Conference, while Kevin Durant (607,407) of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kobe Bryant (501,215) of the Los Angeles Lakers lead the Western Conference after the first returns of NBA All-Star Balloting 2014 presented by Sprint.
The 63rd NBA All-Star Game will be exclusively televised on TNT from New Orleans Arena on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. The All-Star Game, also broadcast live on ESPN Radio, will collectively reach fans in 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.
For the second year in a row, NBA fans can vote via social media networks, including Facebook and Twitter, and Sina Weibo and Tencent Microblog in China. Twitter voting allows fans to tweet a vote for 10 unique players each day throughout the All-Star balloting period. The tweet must include the player’s first and last name, along with hash tag #NBABallot. Facebook voting allows fans to comment on official league, team, or international NBA All-Star Facebook pages by commenting below the post with #NBABallot and the player’s first and last name. Voters can select 10 unique players per day.
NBA Fans can also access the ballot and vote through the NBA Game Time and NBA Game Time from Sprint applications, available on Android and iOS. Fans can fill out one full ballot per day, through the NBA Game Time and NBA Game Time from Sprint application, the most comprehensive app in the marketplace for NBA fans.
There are several other ways fans can cast their votes as part of this season’s all-digital program including: in 11 languages on NBA.com/asb, through SMS voting by texting the player's last name to 6-9-6-2-2 ("MYNBA") or by visiting NBA.com/asb on any wireless device. Fans can vote for 10 different players per day, per phone number, via SMS voting by sending 10 separate SMS messages, each one with a different player's last name. Message and data rates may apply. Voters can fill out one full ballot per day on NBA.com/asb from a desktop or mobile browser.
Balloting concludes on Monday, Jan. 20, and starters will be announced live on TNT on Thursday, Jan. 23, during a special one-hour edition of the Emmy Award-winning pregame show Inside the NBA at 7 p.m. ET, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The special will air prior to TNT’s exclusive doubleheader featuring the Los Angeles Lakers at the Miami Heat (8 p.m. ET) and the Denver Nuggets at the Portland Trail Blazers (10:30 p.m. ET).
NBA All-Star 2014 in New Orleans will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 12th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports' 30th year of All-Star coverage. State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature Sears Shooting Stars, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and Sprite Slam Dunk. Other events at NBA All-Star 2014 will include the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, and NBA All-Star Jam Session. The 2014 game will mark the second NBA All-Star celebration in New Orleans. The city also hosted the event in 2008.