With the NBA finalizing a plan to hold the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta on March 7, we'll actually get to see the league's best duke it out in the annual star-studded exhibition. All-Star voting opened on Jan. 28 and runs through Feb. 16, and Thursday the league revealed the second results with the top 10 players named for each conference in the backcourt and frontcourt.
As usual, fan voting counts for 50 percent of the final vote for the five starters named in each conference, with the media and coaches each having a 25 percent say in the starters. The top vote-getter in each conference is named a captain, and the two captains pick teams from the pre-selected pool of All-Stars.
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After the second returns, LeBron overtook Kevin Durant as the lead vote-getter in the league, while Stephen Curry's lead over the other guards in the West has widened to 1.5 million votes over the second place Luka Doncic. Bradley Beal still holds the top spot among East guards, with Kyrie Irving and James Harden right behind him. Here's an updated look at the voting numbers for both conferences.
Western Conference
| FRONTCOURT | GUARDS |
|---|---|
LeBron James (LAL): 4,369,533 | Stephen Curry (GS): 4,033,050 |
Nikola Jokic (DEN): 3,006,981 | Luka Doncic (DAL): 2,484,552 |
Kawhi Leonard (LAC): 2,462,621 | Damian Lillard (POR): 2,095,157 |
Anthony Davis (LAL): 2,329,371 | Donovan Mitchell (UTA): 479,241 |
Paul George (LAC): 1,024,233 | Ja Morant (MEM): 437,632 |
Zion Williamson (NO): 842,439 | Devin Booker (PHO): 391,116 |
Andrew Wiggins (GS): 552,661 | Chris Paul (PHO): 278,128 |
Christian Wood (DET): 525,018 | Klay Thompson (GS): 225,169 |
Brandon Ingram (NO): 433,041 | CJ McCollum (POR): 218,160 |
Carmelo Anthony (POR): 346,812 | Alex Caruso (LAL): 214,997 |
Eastern Conference
| FRONTCOURT | GUARDS |
|---|---|
Kevin Durant (BKN): 4,234,433 | Bradley Beal (WAS): 2,528,719 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL): 3,282,478 | Kyrie Irving (BKN): 2,104,130 |
Joel Embiid (PHI): 3,022,105 | James Harden (BKN): 1,829,504 |
Jayson Tatum (BOS): 1,680,780 | Jaylen Brown (BOS): 1,062,888 |
Jimmy Butler (MIA): 662,691 | Zach LaVine (CHI): 936,309 |
Bam Adebayo (MIA): 578,133 | Trae Young (ATL): 737,126 |
Domantas Sabonis (IND): 397,711 | Collin Sexton (CLE): 365,942 |
Julius Randle (NY): 387,114 | Derrick Rose (DET): 342,177 |
Gordon Hayward (CHA): 352,667 | Russell Westbrook (WAS): 339,498 |
Jerami Grant (DET): 282,605 | Fred VanVleet (TOR): 255,161 |
Nikola Jokic's strong start to the season has garnered him significant attention amongst fans, as he ranks just behind LeBron in the West frontcourt, ahead of Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Doncic's margin as the second-place guard is closing with Damian Lillard close behind him, while no other guard in the West has over a million votes.
Despite being out for the season, Klay Thompson has moved up in the West backcourt rankings in fan votes, jumping over CJ McCollum, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been bumped from the top 10 by Lakers backup guard Alex Caruso. Caruso received tons of fan attention last season, but ultimately wasn't named to the All-Star roster, and the same thing will happen again this season as other players are more deserving than him. The same goes for Thompson, who hasn't played since the 2019 NBA Finals, but is taking up space over players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray.
Another notable absence is Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who despite seeing a slight decrease in points per game this season, is still having another solid season for a Utah team that is currently first in the West right now.
Fans can fill out a ballot on the NBA's site, as well as on Twitter by using the hashtag #NBAAllStar and the player's name. The league allows fans to submit one ballot a day on the NBA website, and up to 10 times a day on Twitter.
