NEW YORK – Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets top the Western Conference, while LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the second returns of 2010 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. Bryant, a three-time All-Star MVP, is the overall leader with 1,380,383 votes, while James, a two-time All-Star MVP, is second overall with 1,351,292.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 – the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game – on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.

In the Western Conference, Bryant, who shared the MVP award with Shaquille O’Neal in last year’s All-Star Game and who also garnered the honor in 2002 and 2007, is followed at guard by the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash (546,064). Anthony paces forwards in the West (1,204,234) with the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki (668,243) second. The Suns’ Amar’e Stoudemire (950,737) is the leading vote-getter among Western Conference centers, with the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum (588,471) following.

The guards in the Eastern Conference are paced by Wade (1,314,215), followed by the Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson (635,084). While Iverson appears among Western Conference guards on the paper ballot because he began the season with Memphis, his votes count towards the Eastern Conference guards due to his signing with Philadelphia Dec. 3.  James, a two-time All-Star MVP (2006, 2008), paces Eastern Conference forwards with 1,351,292 votes, followed by the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett (1,113,213), MVP of the 2003 All-Star Game. The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard leads all centers with 1,252,786 votes; the Cavaliers’ O’Neal is second among centers in the East (455,239).

2010 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, with associate partner 2K Sports, allows fans worldwide to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. For the first time, fans can vote for All-Stars any time by texting a player’s last name from their mobile phones. Fans can cast one SMS vote per day, per phone number.

There are several ways fans can cast their votes, including: at each NBA arena; in 20 languages on NBA.com; and through mobile phones by texting the player’s last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (“MYNBA”), via Web2Go® on T-Mobile phones or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. A T-Mobile-branded All-Star Balloting widget is also available on NBA.com so that fans can “grab” the widget and place it on their blogs, social network pages, or personal Web sites allowing others to vote directly from the widget. Paper balloting will continue through Jan. 10, while wireless balloting and voting on NBA.com will conclude Jan. 18.

Updated results for the Eastern and Western Conferences will be issued regularly leading up to the announcement of the All-Star starters on Thursday Jan. 21, prior to a TNT doubleheader. Following the completion of fan voting and the starting line-up announcement, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Jan. 28 prior to a TNT doubleheader.

The NBA All-Star ballot lists 120 players – 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences – with 24 guards, 24 forwards, and 12 centers from each conference comprising the list. Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media who regularly cover the NBA: Mike Breen (ABC/ESPN), Eddie Sefko (Dallas Morning News), Doug Smith (The Toronto Star and President, Pro Basketball Writers Association) Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports), Marc Stein (ESPN.com) and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustrated).

NBA All-Star 2010 in Dallas will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The week leading up to the 59^th NBA All-Star Game will feature a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals, including NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. This will be the second NBA All-Star in Dallas. The city also hosted the event in 1986.

In conjunction with All-Star Balloting, 2K Sports will give fans the opportunity to experience Dallas and the best of basketball by entering the NBA® 2K10 Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2010 and have their likeness as a digitized player incorporated in next year’s game, NBA® 2K11.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the second returns of the 2010 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:

2010 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 1,315,292; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,113,213; Chris Bosh (Tor) 553,230; Paul Pierce (Bos) 263,189; Josh Smith (Atl) 236,527; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 167,799; Danny Granger (Ind) 165,543; Michael Beasley (Mia) 132,794; Hedo Turkoglu (Tor) 95,329; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 95,328; Caron Butler (Was) 82,317.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,314,215; Allen Iverson (Phi) 635,084; Vince Carter (Orl) 554,779; Ray Allen (Bos) 385,744; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 355,544; Derrick Rose (Chi) 305,029; Joe Johnson (Atl) 227,896; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 203,252; Jose Calderon (Tor) 115,071; Mike Bibby (Atl) 106,830.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,252,786; Shaquille O’Neal (Cle) 455,239; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 121,253; Al Horford (Atl) 118,802; Brook Lopez (NJ) 105,157; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 87,876; Jermaine O’Neal (Mia) 81,262; Rasheed Wallace (Bos) 66,304; Kendrick Perkins (Bos) 40,057; Samuel Dalembert (Phi) 35,714; Tyson Chandler (Cha) 31,470; Brad Miller (Chi) 29,369.

2010 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,204,234; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 668,243; Pau Gasol (LAL) 565,414; Tim Duncan (SA) 564,728; Kevin Durant (OKC) 406,581; Trevor Ariza (Hou) 355,529;

Luis Scola (Hou) 295,691; Shawn Marion (Dal) 268,853; Ron Artest (LAL) 197,689; Lamar Odom (LAL) 152,684; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 129,909.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,380,383; Steve Nash (Pho) 546,064; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 541,190; Chris Paul (NO) 521,468; Jason Kidd (Dal) 372,225; Aaron Brooks (Hou) 298,892; Chauncey Billups (Den) 241,737; Deron Williams (Utah) 208,991; Jason Terry (Dal) 195,456; Brandon Roy (Por) 189,137; Manu Ginobili (SA) 171,624.

Centers: Amar’e Stoudemire (Pho) 950,737; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 588,471; Nene (Den) 199,667; Marc Gasol (Mem) 160,686; Greg Oden (Por) 108,147; Al Jefferson (Min) 98,669; Antonio McDyess (SA) 94,479; Marcus Camby (LAC) 86,719; Andris Biedrins (GS) 77,287; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 69,612; Emeka Okafor (NO) 61,823; Spencer Hawes (Sac) 20,646.