NBA All-Star Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Jayson Tatum leading vote-getters in first results
In a surprise, LaMelo Ball leads the balloting among Eastern Conference guards
The NBA released the early returns on All-Star fan voting 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.
Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
Next fan update: 1/9. pic.twitter.com/OoIIa3S3fn— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 2, 2025
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. The second wave of voting results will be released Jan. 9.
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. The All-Star reserves, chosen by the league's 30 head coaches, will be revealed Jan. 30.
Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in scoring at 32.6 points per game and is fifth in rebounding, averaging 11.6. Jokić ranks third at 30.7 points, while his 13 rebounds per game also 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.
Only Gilgeous-Alexander, who is second in scoring at 31.3 points per game, has more votes among NBA guards than Ball. That includes Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić (870,071 votes) and Warriors standout Stephen Curry (810,357). Among Eastern Conference guards, Ball has nearly 230,000 more votes than five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell (718,084) of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will introduce a new tournament-style format in hopes of creating a more competitive contest for the league's midseason showcase. Instead of one game featuring East versus West, All-Star Sunday will feature a tournament with four teams made up of eight players each.
Three of the teams will be comprised of the 24 players selected as All-Stars. TNT's Charles Barkley, Shaquille O' Neal and Kenny Smith will draft the rosters for those teams Feb. 6. The fourth team will be the winner of Feb. 14's Rising Stars Challenge, featuring first- and second-year NBA players with G League standouts. (The All-Star tournament will follow the format used in the Rising Stars Challenge.)
