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Tim BontempsESPN
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James led the first round of fan votes for this year’s NBA All-Star Game.
The update was released by the NBA on Thursday afternoon.
Durant, who missed the entire season – his first as a member of the Nets – with a ruptured Achilles tendon, led all players with 2,302,705 votes, slightly more than James’ 2,288,676, the highest total in the Western Conference.
Stephen Curry (2.11 million) was the only player besides Durant and James to win more than 2 million votes, and as a result he was the runaway leader for first place among the Western guards. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (1.39 million) came in second, followed by Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (998,853) in third.
Durant was followed in the east frontcourt by Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (1.75 million votes) and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (1.58 million), with the three well ahead of Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (822,151) in fourth place.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, the NBA’s top scorer, led all the players in the eastern backcourt with nearly 1.3 million votes, followed closely by Durant’s fellow Brooklyn students: James Harden (1,093,611) and Kyrie Irving (1,014,763).
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young were a distant fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
In the West, James was followed in the frontcourt by Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (1.47 million), LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (1.28 million) and Lakers teammate Anthony Davis (1.19 million), with Leonard’s teammate Paul George a distant fifth.
All-Star voting began on January 28, with fans being able to vote through the NBA’s website, the app, or Twitter, and will continue through February 16. The All-Star Starters – determined by fan votes (which accounts for 50 percent of the vote), media (25 percent), and player (25 percent) votes – will be announced Feb. 18 on TNT. The reserves – which will be voted on by NBA coaches – will be announced on TNT on Feb. 23.