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.
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 ofthe 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.
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.
NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2019 PRESENTED BY GOOGLE: FIRST FAN RETURNS
Eastern Conference:
Frontcourt
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 991,5612. Kawhi Leonard (TOR) 774,1723. Joel Embiid (PHI) 648,0024. Jimmy Butler (PHI) 222,2065. Jayson Tatum (BOS) 214,6226. Blake Griffin (DET) 192,6947. Vince Carter (ATL) 76,0228. Andre Drummond (DET) 68,2049. Gordon Hayward (BOS) 66,49210. Al Horford (BOS) 62,288
Guards
1. Kyrie Irving (BOS) 910,3292. Dwyane Wade (MIA) 409,1563. Kemba Walker (CHA) 319,5194. Ben Simmons (PHI) 259,9935. Victor Oladipo (IND) 198,0096. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 180,5717. Zach LaVine (CHI) 128,6058. Jeremy Lin (ATL) 62,5739. Bradley Beal (WAS) 61,26910. John Wall (WAS) 54,366
Western Conference:
Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (LAL) 1,083,3632. Luka Dončić (DAL) 679,8393. Kevin Durant (GSW) 659,9684. Anthony Davis (NOP) 605,4175. Paul George (OKC) 580,0556. Steven Adams (OKC) 261,3277. Nikola Jokić (DEN) 235,2728. Kyle Kuzma (LAL) 195,4779. Draymond Green (GSW) 138,01710. DeMarcus Cousins (GSW) 92,977
Guards
1. Stephen Curry (GSW) 793,1112. Derrick Rose (MIN) 698,0863. James Harden (HOU) 541,6064. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 459,7925. Klay Thompson (GSW) 247,6186. Damian Lillard (POR) 200,6097. DeMar DeRozan (SAS) 197,5248. Lonzo Ball (LAL) 175,0409. Devin Booker (PHO) 111,89710. Chris Paul (HOU) 101,104
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.