The first return of the All-Star Game voting has been announced, with LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers leading all players with over a million votes and MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks trailing nearly 100,000 votes behind James for the Eastern Conference.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors leads the way for all the West guards with 793,111 votes while Kyrie Irving leads East guards with 910,329 votes.
The NBA announced the first fan returns for 2019 All-Star voting. LeBron James of the Los Angeles #Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee #Bucks lead the way for the West and East, respectively. pic.twitter.com/aI4RvFp8fc
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 3, 2019
Among the surprises are Dallas Mavericks' rookie phenom Luka Doncic trailing James directly with 679,839 votes, making him a very likely candidate to make the All-Star team in his first year — something that hasn't happened since Blake Griffin made it in 2011 after sitting out his would-be first season in 2009-10.
Grant Hill made history by becoming the first rookie to lead the NBA in voting in his first season in the league back in 1994-1995.
Derrick Rose, who is enjoying a resurgent year with the Minnesota Timberwolves, is right below Stephen Curry and second among West guards with 698,086 — a testament to his deep following, even after several years since his MVP campaign with the Chicago Bulls.
Charlotte Hornets point man Kemba Walker seems primed to make his third All-Star team, ranking third among East guards with 319,519 votes, above the likes of Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers and Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers.
DeMarcus Cousins has also managed to crack the top 10 in the West's frontcourt despite having yet to play a game this season. All five Warriors projected starters are currently in the ballot shortlist, more than any other team in the NBA.
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