The early returns of fan voting results for the 2018 All-Star game reveal that LeBron James and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo are the leading vote-getters. The Greek Freak led all players in both conferences with 863,416 votes.
James came in second with 856,080 votes with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving rounding out the top five.
Antetokounmpo’s 2017-2018 campaign has been nothing short of remarkable.
The 23-year old forward is having a career season with 29 points, ten rebounds, and an impressive 4.7 assists per game. The Bucks are fifth place in the East, and after the addition of point guard Eric Bledsoe, are in firm playoff contention.
Milwaukee’s success and obvious transcendent talent of Antetokounmpo have helped to bolster the chances of the young Greek enjoying a place in the All-Star Game. It will count as the second of what could be many appearances by him.
The full standings are as follows:
Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the leading vote getters in each conference in the first fan ballots returns for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game pic.twitter.com/almTcSQhzb
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) January 4, 2018
This year, the league decided that no longer will team rosters for the 2018 All-Star Game be determined by conference. Instead, there will be two captains from the West and East respectively who will have the task of choosing their teams. The captain role will be filled by the two players with the most fan votes in either conference.
As it now stands, Antetokounmpo and Durant (767,402 votes), would be the captains of the two All-Star teams.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid with 433,161, is the third most fan vote-getter among eastern conference frontcourt players.
Boston’s Irving leads Eastern conference guards with 802,834 votes.
Again, for the second consecutive year, NBA players and media will get a counting vote. The Fan votes will count as 50 percent, while the media and players’ vote will count as 25.
The next scheduled update on the fan vote will take place on January 11.
