NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2019 presented by Google.
Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the 68th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. All current NBA players and a media panel each account for 25 percent of the vote, with every voter completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference. Voting for fans, players and media will conclude on Monday, Jan. 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
James, a 14-time NBA All-Star and three-time Kia NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player, leads all players with 1,083,363 votes to earn the top spot in the Western Conference frontcourt in the first fan returns. Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Dončić ranks second in the West frontcourt with 679,839 votes, followed closely by the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (659,968). The New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis (605,417) and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George (580,055) round out the top five in that position group.
LeBron/Steph and Giannis/Kyrie lead the first returns of #NBAAllStar Voting 2019 presented by @Google!
Vote on https://t.co/R6fBO5LSAS, the NBA App or by searching for your favorite player or team on Google.
Vote now! https://t.co/gcW4K59HC0 pic.twitter.com/JIZFyIC2Pu— #NBAAllStar 2021 (@NBAAllStar) January 3, 2019
Golden State’s Stephen Curry holds first place among West guards with 793,111 votes. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Derrick Rose is second with 698,086 votes. The Houston Rockets’ James Harden (541,606) and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (459,792) are third and fourth, respectively, among West guards.
Antetokounmpo, an NBA All-Star in each of the previous two seasons, is the top vote-getter among all Eastern Conference players, receiving 991,561 votes in the frontcourt group. Joining Antetokounmpo at the top of the East frontcourt are second-place Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors (774,172) and third-place Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (648,002).
In the East guard group, the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving leads with 910,329 votes. The Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade is the second-leading guard with 409,156 votes, while the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (319,519) ranks third and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (259,993) is fourth.
* 2019 NBA All-Star voting second returns
The 2019 NBA All-Star Game will follow last year’s format: The two team captains will draft rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference, making their picks regardless of conference affiliation. The captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference. Details about the NBA All-Star Draft will be announced at a later date.
TNT will reveal the NBA All-Star Game starters, including the two captains, on Thursday, Jan. 24 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The network will announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Thursday, Jan. 31 during TNT NBA Tip-Off.
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NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2019 PRESENTED BY GOOGLE
Eastern Conference
Frontcourt
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), 991,561 votes
2. Kawhi Leonard (TOR), 774,172 votes
3. Joel Embiid (PHI), 648,002 votes
4. Jimmy Butler (PHI), 222,206 votes
5. Jayson Tatum (BOS), 214,622 votes
6. Blake Griffin (DET), 192,694 votes
7. Vince Carter (ATL) , 76,022 votes
8. Andre Drummond (DET), 68,204 votes
9. Gordon Hayward (BOS), 66,492 votes
10. Al Horford (BOS), 62,288 votes
Guards
1. Kyrie Irving (BOS), 910,329 votes
2. Dwyane Wade (MIA), 409,156 votes
3. Kemba Walker (CHA), 319,519 votes
4. Ben Simmons (PHI), 259,993 votes
5. Victor Oladipo (IND), 198,009 votes
6. Kyle Lowry (TOR), 180,571 votes
7. Zach LaVine (CHI), 128,605 votes
8. Jeremy Lin (ATL), 62,573 votes
9. Bradley Beal (WAS), 61,269 votes
10. John Wall (WAS), 54,366 votes
Western Conference
Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (LAL), 1,083,363 votes
2. Luka Dončić (DAL), 679,839 votes
3. Kevin Durant (GSW), 659,968 votes
4. Anthony Davis (NOP), 605,417 votes
5. Paul George (OKC), 580,055 votes
6. Steven Adams (OKC), 261,327 votes
7. Nikola Jokić (DEN), 235,272 votes
8. Kyle Kuzma (LAL), 195,477 votes
9. Draymond Green (GSW), 138,017 votes
10. DeMarcus Cousins (GSW), 92,977 votes
Guards
1. Stephen Curry (GSW), 793,111 votes
2. Derrick Rose (MIN), 698,086 votes
3. James Harden (HOU), 541,606 votes
4. Russell Westbrook (OKC), 459,792 votes
5. Klay Thompson (GSW), 247,618 votes
6. Damian Lillard (POR), 200,609 votes
7. DeMar DeRozan (SAS), 197,524 votes
8. Lonzo Ball (LAL), 175,040 votes
9. Devin Booker (PHO), 111,897 votes
10. Chris Paul (HOU), 101,104 votes
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After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference will be named NBA All-Star Game starters. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.
NBA All-Star Voting 2019 presented by Google runs from Dec. 25 – Jan. 21. The two remaining fan voting updates will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 10 and Thursday, Jan. 17.
During the voting period, five “2-for-1 Days” allow fans to have their votes count twice. The 2-for-1 Days, which are designated 12 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET, take place today, tomorrow, Jan. 10, Jan. 11 and Jan. 21 through all voting platforms.
How Fans Can Vote
• NBA.com voting page at NBA.com/vote: Fill out one full ballot per day (per day is defined as once every 24 hours) on NBA.com/vote from a desktop or mobile browser. Fans can select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.
• NBA App: Access the ballot and vote through the app, which is available on Android and Fans can fill out one full ballot per day and select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.
• Google: Vote on com or the Google Search App by searching “NBA Vote” and “NBA All-Star Vote” or simply by searching for your favorite player or team. Fans may submit votes for 10 unique players per day.
• The Google Assistant: NBA All-Star Voting is available on the Google Assistant for the first time. Vote via any Google Assistant-enabled device by saying, “OK, Google, talk to NBA All-Star.” Fans may submit votes for up to 10 unique players per The Google Assistant is available on laptops, phones, speakers, tablets and other connected devices.
