Lakers’ James Takes Overall Lead in Second Fan Returns of National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Voting Presented by Google Hawks’ Young Leads Nets’ Irving and Celtics’ Walker in Tight Race in East Guard Group NEW YORK, United States of America, January 10, 2020/APO Group/ -- James Passes Mavericks’ Dončić for Top Spot in West; Bucks’ Antetokounmpo Holds Top Spot in East; Hawks’ Young Leads Nets’ Irving and Celtics’ Walker in Tight Race in East Guard Group 

The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James has surpassed the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Dončić and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo to lead the NBA (https://www.NBA.com) in the second fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting presented by Google.

James has taken an 82,001-vote lead over Dončić among all Western Conference players.The NBA All-Star Game captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference. 

Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the 69th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place at the United Center in Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.  All current NBA players and a media panel each account for 25 percent of the vote, with every voter completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference. Voting for fans, players and media will conclude on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

In the second fan returns, James leads all players with 3,359,871 votes to keep the top spot in the Western Conference frontcourt.  The Lakers’ Anthony Davis (3,124,446) and the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (2,210,539) continue to rank second and third, respectively, in the West frontcourt.

Dončić leads the West guards with 3,277,870 votes.  The Houston Rockets’ James Harden remains in second place, receiving 2,167,269 votes.

Antetokounmpo has increased his lead as the top vote-getter among all Eastern Conference players, earning 3,259,383 votes in the frontcourt group.  He continues to be followed by second-place Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (1,784,211) and third-place Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors (1,730,763) in the East frontcourt.

In the East guard group, the top three players are separated by 58,051 votes.  The Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young (1,389,628) is still in first place, followed by second-place Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets (1,351,997) and third-place Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics (1,331,577).

The NBA All-Star 2020 team rosters will be drafted by the two captains.  They will choose from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference, making their selections regardless of conference affiliation. 

TNT will reveal the NBA All-Star Game starters, including the two team captains, on Thursday, Jan. 23 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader.  The network will also announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Thursday, Jan. 30 during TNT NBA Tip-Off.  

NBA ALL-STAR VOTING PRESENTED BY GOOGLE: SECOND FAN RETURNS

Western Conference

Frontcourt Guards
  1. LeBron James (LAL) 3,359,871
 1. Luka Dončić (DAL) 3,277,870
  1. Anthony Davis (LAL) 3,124,446
 2. James Harden (HOU) 2,167,269
3. Kawhi Leonard (LAC) 2,210,539 3. Damian Lillard (POR) 687,855
4. Paul George (LAC) 845,719 4. Stephen Curry (GSW) 595,913
5. Nikola Jokić (DEN) 559,881 5. Russell Westbrook (HOU) 581,500
6. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 545,385 6. Alex Caruso (LAL) 528,246
7. Kristaps Porzingis (DAL) 540,603 7. Donovan Mitchell (UTA) 449,835
8. Carmelo Anthony (POR) 520,021 8. Devin Booker (PHX) 381,071
9. Brandon Ingram (NOP) 444,522 9. D’Angelo Russell (GSW) 365,730
10. Dwight Howard (LAL) 390,037 10. Ja Morant (MEM) 257,433

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt Guards
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 3,259,383 1. Trae Young (ATL) 1,389,628
2. Joel Embiid (PHI) 1,784,211 2. Kyrie Irving (BKN) 1,351,997
3. Pascal Siakam (TOR) 1,730,763 3. Kemba Walker (BOS) 1,331,577
4. Jimmy Butler (MIA) 1,400,293 4. Derrick Rose (DET) 918,550
5. Jayson Tatum (BOS) 1,182,663 5. Zach LaVine (CHI) 572,022
6. Tacko Fall (BOS) 543,352 6. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 567,896
7. Bam Adebayo (MIA) 349,078 7. Jaylen Brown (BOS) 544,361
8. Gordon Hayward (BOS) 291,608 8. Ben Simmons (PHI) 456,066
9. Domantas Sabonis (IND) 239,639 9. Bradley Beal (WAS) 447,107
10. Andre Drummond (DET) 228,190 10. Fred VanVleet (TOR) 351,391

After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes.  Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes.  The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference will be named NBA All-Star Game starters.  Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.

NBA All-Star Voting presented by Google began on Dec. 25 and runs until Monday, Jan. 20.  The third and final fan voting update will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 16. 

During the voting period, five “2-for-1 Days” allow fans to have their votes count twice.  The remaining 2-for-1 Days, which are designated 12 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET, take place tomorrow (Jan. 10), Jan. 16 and Jan. 20 through all voting platforms.  The other 2-for-1 Days were held on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. How Fans Can Vote:

The Google Assistant: Vote via any Google Assistant-enabled device by saying, “Hey Google, vote for the NBA All-Star Game.”  Fans may submit votes for up to 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 20.  The Google Assistant is available on laptops, phones, speakers, tablets and other connected devices (https://bit.ly/2QDjEmZ) Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).About NBA All-Star 2020: NBA (https://www.NBA.com) All-Star 2020 in Chicago will bring together the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game.  The 69th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the United Center, will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.  TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 18th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 35th year of NBA All-Star coverage.  United Center will also host Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 14 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 15.  The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles on Feb. 14 and the NBA All-Star Practice & Media Day presented by AT&T on Feb. 15 will take place at Wintrust Arena.