The NBA All-Star Game is a month away, and as such, the time for fans to vote on who they want to start in the game is nearing its end.
Fan voting will close on January 21, with media and player voting to follow to make up the other half of the votes to decide on the starters. On Thursday, with five days left in voting, the league released the third round of voting results, and little has changed. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are still in the drivers’ seats for being captain, while Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving hold down distant second spots in each conference.
The latest NBA All-Star vote totals … pic.twitter.com/9pkNeJmjsu
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 17, 2019
Like last year, the two leading vote-getters will be captains of the two squads, as the league got rid of the East vs. West designations. However, unlike a year ago, the draft will be live on television on Thursday, Feb. 7, on TNT prior to that night’s games — it’s also the same day as the trade deadline, so it will be a busy day in the Association.
As for who will be the starters, that remains a mystery as we wait on fan and media voting, but there will be a few very interesting races to keep an eye on. Derrick Rose is currently ahead of James Harden, but with Harden currently the leading MVP candidate one would expect players and media to have him above Rose by a significant margin. Also in the West, Luka Doncic holds a lead over Paul George and Kevin Durant in fan voting, and where media and players place him will determine whether he stays in the top three there.
