Yesterday, the NBA released the current leaders in All-Star voting. Many were shocked to see Kobe Bryant leading the way, ahead of Stephen Curry by over 200,000 votes. I, for one, was not surprised. It’s Kobe’s last season, and he probably has more fans than any other player does. He has a massive global fanbase.
Although I wasn’t surprised, Kobe sure was. Via ESPN’s Baxter Holmes:
After the Lakers’ 94-84, Christmas night loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Bryant said he was more than a little surprised he had such a wide lead.
“Listen, I was making a little coffee run this morning, got some gas and decided to just go on Instagram and peruse,” he said, “and [I] saw the damn votes, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ Shocked doesn’t do it justice.”
He added, “It’s exciting. What can I say? Just thankful.”
On paper, the world should be shocked about this. After all, Kobe is shooting 34.5% from the field and 25.7% from long range this season. However, he’s Kobe Bryant, and he’s on his farewell tour. Of course the fans are going to vote Kobe into the All-Star Game. I don’t really have a problem with it. After all, the fan vote makes the All-Star game what it is: a popularity contest.
