The first update of NBA all-star fan voting has arrived, and Toronto Raptors‘ forward Kawhi Leonard sits fifth overall while teammate Kyle Lowry may need some help.
Leonard is second among Eastern Conference frontcourt players, and Lowry is sixth among guards. Leading the way overall for the starters vote is 14-time NBA all-star LeBron James with 1,083,363 votes, while the Milwaukee Bucks’ “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the East with 991,561 votes.
It’s important to note that fan vote only accounts for 50 per cent of final total vote for the NBA’s 10 all-star starters, while the other fifty per cent is comprised of a media and player vote. The format for the all-star game is the same as last year according to the NBA’s press release:
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.
The all-star draft will reportedly be televised this year.
Voting will conclude on Jan. 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and two remaining fan voting updates will be shared on Jan. 10 and Jan. 17. The league will still name reserves after the initial announcement of the 10 starters on Jan. 24.
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