The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2019 presented by Google.
The Greek Freak said it felt good to be in the lead and thanked fame for voting while urging them to continue voting.
Fans account for 50 per cent 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 per cent 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.
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).
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).
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.
source: nba.com
“It feels good. I want to thank the fans for voting…and to keep voting!” ?
Vote NOW: https://t.co/BlcMTsrtEx
Giannis reacts to the first @NBAAllStar results: pic.twitter.com/aQeb1X48qd
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 4, 2019
