Giannis Antetokounmpo And Kevin Durant Lead Each Conference’s NBA All-Star Game Fan Voting

There’s always intrigue when it comes to the NBA players that get the highest number of All-Star Game votes. The first series of voting returns are in, and while the top player in the Western Conference won’t come as a surprise to anyone, we do have a surprise at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Let’s start with the West, where the Golden State Warriors’ two biggest stars are running away with things. Kevin Durant is the conference’s top vote getter, accruing more than 767,000 votes. His teammate, Stephen Curry, is hot on his heels, coming in with more than 735,000.

Beyond them, the only other player out west to get more than 500,000 votes is Rockets star and one of the favorites to be named the league MVP, James Harden.

Things get far more interesting in the East, though, where LeBron James is perpetually viewed as the player who will receive the most votes. But as it turns out, he’s not even the top vote getter in his division: While James is in second with more than 856,000 votes, he’s chasing the 863,000+ votes that Giannis Antetokounmpo has accrued.

Beyond the pair at the top, there’s still one interesting footnote: Kyrie Irving has fewer votes than either guy, but his 802,834 votes are the third-most of anyone in the league.

There are plenty of fun nuggets in here — a bunch of fun young players in the East like Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis seem primed to make their first All-Star Games, Manu Ginobili looks like he could make it in what might be his final season, etc. — but it’s super cool that Antetokounmpo is being recognized for his monster season by leading the entire league in votes at this juncture.

There’s still plenty of time for guys like James and Durant to close that gap, but for now, it’s possible that the Greek Freak ends up as the top vote getter heading into Los Angeles this February.