The first returns for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game on February 16 at New Orleans Arena have been revealed, and the new format, whereby the center has been eliminated in favor of three frontcourt players, hasn’t changed the results too much as LeBron James was the leading voter-getter, narrowly edging out Kevin Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer so far this season.
James, Indiana’s Paul George and Carmelo Anthony (from top down) lead the way for the Eastern Conference frontcourt with Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving and the injured Derrick Rose the three leading vote-getters for the Eastern backcourt.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Frontcourt:
1. LeBron James (Mia) 609,336
2. Paul George (Ind) 489,335
3. Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 424,211
4. Roy Hibbert (Ind) 208,369
5. Chris Bosh (Mia) 156,364
6. Kevin Garnett (BKN) 102,825
7. Joakim Noah (Chi) 75,229
8. Jeff Green (Bos) 55,912
9. Luol Deng (Chi) 54,340
10. Tyson Chandler (NYK) 51,738
11. Andre Drummond (Det) 51,351
12. Carlos Boozer (Chi) 48,745
13. Paul Pierce (BKN) 45,145
14. Brook Lopez (BKN) 37,153
15. Josh Smith (Det) 32,025
Backcourt:
1. Dwyane Wade (Mia) 396,279
2. Kyrie Irving (Cle) 365,712
3. Derrick Rose (Chi) 272,410
4. John Wall (Was) 124,851
5. Ray Allen (Mia) 99,464
6. Rajon Rondo (Bos) 80,889
7. Deron Williams (BKN) 44,282
8. George Hill (Ind) 42,536
9. Evan Turner (Phi) 33,605
10. Mario Chalmers (Mia) 32,996
In the West, Durant is at the top for the frontcourt, with Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin, trailing — by more than half the votes Durant accrued — in the No. 2 and 3 spots for Western frontcourt players.
Kobe Braynt, who has only appeared in two games for the Lakers so far this season — both of which they’ve lost – was the top vote-getter in the Western Conference backcourt with Chris Paul and Stephen Curry trailing in second and third, respectively. Although, Curry and Paul aren’t trailing by nearly as many votes as Durant is leading for Western frontcourt.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Frontcourt:
1. Kevin Durant (OKC) 607,407
2. Dwight Howard (Hou) 295,120
3. Blake Griffin (LAC) 292,925
4. Kevin Love (Min) 275,506
5. Tim Duncan (SA) 217,271
6. Anthony Davis (NO) 149,579
7. Pau Gasol (LAL) 133,199
8. LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 132,818
9. Andre Iguodala (GS) 109,745
10. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 89,093
11. Chandler Parsons (Hou) 77,179
12. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) 60,923
13. David Lee (GS) 60,015
14. Kawhi Leonard (SA) 55,023
15. Omer Asik (Hou) 53,827
Backcourt:
1. Kobe Bryant (LAL) 501,215
2. Chris Paul (LAC) 393,313
3. Stephen Curry (GS) 327,449
4. Jeremy Lin (Hou) 240,404
5. James Harden (Hou) 198,667
6. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 149,065
7. Tony Parker (SA) 112,423
8. Ricky Rubio (Min) 63,096
9. Steve Nash (LAL) 60,782
10. Damian Lillard (Por) 55,847
Both James and Durant are more than 100,000 votes ahead of the nearest vote-getter, Kobe Bryant.
Which player should be higher after the first All-Star returns?
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