NBA: James, Durant lead early All-Star voting
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LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, closing in on the top spot on the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) all-time scoring list, leads the fan voting for the league’s All-Star game in the first returns announced on Thursday.
Fifteen days after voting opened, James has collected 3,168,694 votes in the Western Conference.
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is the top vote-getter in the Eastern Conference with 3,118,545.
The players, who lead the voting in each conference, captain the two All-Star teams.
James has been a captain in all five All-Star games that used that format, and his teams beat Durant-captained Eastern outfits in 2020 and 2021.
Voting continues until Jan 21 for the mid-season exhibition scheduled for Feb 19 in Salt Lake City.
While James’ Lakers are struggling and are out of the play-off positions at 12th in the West, he is approaching the most coveted record of the league.
He is on pace to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) as the league’s all-time leading scorer, perhaps before the All-Star Game.
Denver’s two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic is second to James in the West (2,237,768 votes) with James’ teammate Anthony Davis third (2,063,325).
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic are holding down the remaining two starting guard spots.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is second to Durant in East voting for front-court players with 2,998,327 votes, followed by Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (2,226,712).
Nets’ Kyrie Irving and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell are leading the guards’ vote for the East.
Fans account for 50 per cent of the All-Star voting. The other half is shared equally by NBA players and the media.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are hoping to have James back as they seek a second win over the Atlanta Hawks in eight days when the clubs meet in in Southern California on Friday night.
James celebrated his 38th birthday on Dec 30
Not satisfied, the 18-time All-Star had his second-biggest scoring night of the year, a 43-pointer, in the 121-115 win at Charlotte three nights later.
In the process, he became the first 38-year-old since Michael Jordan to score 40 or more in consecutive games.
His bid for a 40-plus hat-trick was put on hold by what Lakers coach Darvin Ham labelled a “common cold” on Wednesday, but that did not prevent Los Angeles from tying a season high with their third straight win, 112-109 over the visiting Miami Heat. AFP, REUTERS
