LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo remain favorites to repeat as All-Star captains
In the final public NBA All-Star ballot returns before fan voting closes on Monday, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo remain the leaders for the Western and Eastern Conference captain spots.
The leading vote-getters from each conference serve as captains for the Feb. 16 All-Star Game in Chicago, selecting teams from the remaining pool of 22 players. James, whose 4,747,887 votes are more than any other player has received, leads Luka Doncic by 149,564 votes for the West captaincy. Antetokounmpo leads Pascal Siakam, the East’s next-highest vote-getter, by more than two million votes. James and Antetokounmpo also served as captains of last year’s All-Star Game in Charlotte.
Doncic led James in the first fan voting returns earlier this month, but James passed him last week.
Los Angeles Lakers reserve guard Alex Caruso and seldom-used Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall have held steady as voting anomalies, respectively ranking fourth among West guards and sixth among East frontcourt players. Neither will make the All-Star Game, as fans only account for 50 percent of the final vote. Players and media split the remaining 50 percent. Only fans determine the game’s two captains.
Still, fan voting will have significant bearing on the game’s potential starters. If only fans decided the two guards and three frontcourt players who will start from each conference, the West entrants (in order of vote totals) would be James, Doncic, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Antetokounmpo, Siakam, Joel Embiid, Trae Young and Kyrie Irving would represent the East. Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Derrick Rose and Paul George are the only other players to have received more than one million fan votes, and all trail the crop of potential starters by a sizable amount.
James, Davis, Leonard, Doncic, Harden, Antetokounmpo, Siakam and Embiid are all likely starters once votes from players and the 100-person media panel are also submitted by Monday. Irving would be the most controversial starter, should his peers and reporters follow fans’ lead, since he missed two months with a shoulder injury and has played just 14 games. Young, whose 29.1 points per game trail only Antetokounmpo in the East, is the next-biggest question mark, given his Atlanta Hawks are in last place.
Below are the fan voting totals released by the NBA on Thursday:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (LAL) 4,747,887
2. Anthony Davis (LAL) 4,412,619
3. Kawhi Leonard (LAC) 2,973,076
4. Paul George (LAC) 1,171,616
5. Nikola Jokić (DEN) 889,387
6. Carmelo Anthony (POR) 784,038
7. Kristaps Porzingis (DAL) 774,056
8. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 746,013
9. Brandon Ingram (NOP) 672,666
10. Dwight Howard (LAL) 670,643
Guards
1. Luka Dončić (DAL) 4,598,323
2. James Harden (HOU) 2,934,614
3. Damian Lillard (POR) 984,140
4. Alex Caruso (LAL) 894,827
5. Russell Westbrook (HOU) 837,187
6. Stephen Curry (GSW) 819,352
7. Donovan Mitchell (UTA) 673,917
8. Devin Booker (PHX) 577,035
9. D’Angelo Russell (GSW) 491,047
10. Ja Morant (MEM) 399,703
Eastern Conference
Frontcourt
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 4,474,107
2. Pascal Siakam (TOR) 2,433,411
3. Joel Embiid (PHI) 2,398,743
4. Jimmy Butler (MIA) 2,046,257
5. Jayson Tatum (BOS) 1,622,635
6. Tacko Fall (BOS) 757,375
7. Bam Adebayo (MIA) 529,244
8. Gordon Hayward (BOS) 398,213
9. Domantas Sabonis (IND) 381,390
10. Andre Drummond (DET) 325,178
Guards
1. Trae Young (ATL) 2,066,924
2. Kyrie Irving (BKN) 1,814,618
3. Kemba Walker (BOS) 1,797,633
4. Derrick Rose (DET) 1,381,934
5. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 848,293
6. Zach LaVine (CHI) 847,632
7. Jaylen Brown (BOS) 718,355
8. Ben Simmons (PHI) 629,199
9. Bradley Beal (WAS) 609,899
10. Fred VanVleet (TOR) 546,471
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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
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