The NBA released the early returns on All-Star fan voting on Thursday and Giannis Antetokounmpo is the leading vote-getter thus far.
The Milwaukee Bucks star has received 1,710,630 votes to lead the overall balloting. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić is the top player among Western Conference stars with 1,422,121 votes.
Other players who received one million or more votes are Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (1,385,851), Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns (1,268,799), Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James (1,167,661), New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (1,099,966) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1,053,683).
Lakers forward Anthony Davis (999,540), Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (947,444) and San Antonio Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama (928,501) finish out the top 10 among top All-Star vote-getters.
Starters for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be announced on Jan. 23, while the game will be played on Feb. 16 at San Francisco’s Chase Center, the home of the Golden State Warriors.
Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in scoring at 32.6 points per game and fifth with 11.6 rebounds. Jokić ranks third at 30.7 points, while his 13 rebounds per game rank third and his 9.7 assists place him second among NBA players.
The name that may pop out among the top vote-getters is Ball. In his fifth season, the Hornets guard is averaging 30.1 points per game. That would rank fourth among NBA leading scorers. But Ball has appeared in only 22 games after sustaining a left calf strain on Nov. 27.