NEW YORK – LeBron James and Kyrie Irving of the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers are the top two vote-getters overall, while Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors lead all Western Conference players in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon.

The first week of fan voting for the 66^th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, produced close races in both conferences and generated 138% more votes cast (11,174,153) than during the same time period last year (4,693,433).

James, a 12-time All-Star, received 595,288 votes to earn the top spot among all players.  Joining James at the top of the Eastern Conference frontcourt are the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (500,663) and Cleveland’s Kevin Love (250,347), with rookie Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (221,984) next on the list.  Irving (543,030) and 12-time All-Star Dwyane Wade of the Chicago Bulls (278,052) lead the East guards, followed by the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan (253,340).

Durant, who owns the highest scoring average in All-Star Game history (25.6 ppg), paces all West players with 541,209 votes.  He is followed in the West frontcourt by Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia (439,675) and the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (341,240), who edges the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis (318,144).  Curry (523,597) narrowly tops a tight race among West guards, with the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (519,446) edging two-time reigning All-Star Game MVP Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder (501,652) for second place.

For the first time ever, NBA players and basketball media will join fans in selecting the starters for the NBA All-Star Game.  Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each.  Player and media voting will begin next week, with each participant completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from both conferences.

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 five players (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.

See below for the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2017 presented by Verizon.

NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2017 PRESENTED BY VERIZON

 

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

1          LeBron James (CLE) 595,288
2          Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 500,663
3          Kevin Love (CLE) 250,347
4          Joel Embiid (PHI) 221,984
5          Carmelo Anthony (NY) 189,817
6          Jimmy Butler (CHI) 189,066
7          Kristaps Porzingis (NY) 184,166
8          Paul George (IND) 138,332
9          Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 72,628
10        Jabari Parker (MIL) 64,141

Guards

1          Kyrie Irving (CLE) 543,030
2          Dwyane Wade (CHI) 278,052
3          DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 253,340
4          Isaiah Thomas (BOS) 193,297
5          Derrick Rose (NY) 129,924
6          Kyle Lowry (TOR) 128,940
7          John Wall (WAS) 87,360
8          Jeremy Lin (BKN) 59,562
9          Kemba Walker (CHA) 52,122
10        Avery Bradley (BOS) 32,822

Western Conference

Frontcourt

1          Kevin Durant (GS) 541,209
2          Zaza Pachulia (GS) 439,675
3          Kawhi Leonard (SA) 341,240
4          Anthony Davis (NO) 318,144
5          Draymond Green (GS) 236,315
6          DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) 202,317
7          Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 125,278
8          LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) 101,724
9          Blake Griffin (LAC) 100,524
10        Marc Gasol (MEM) 97,370

Guards

1          Stephen Curry (GS) 523,597
2          James Harden (HOU) 519,446
3          Russell Westbrook (OKC) 501,652
4          Klay Thompson (GS) 293,054
5          Chris Paul (LAC) 173,830
6          Damian Lillard (POR) 117,857
7          Eric Gordon (HOU) 76,609
8          Manu Ginobili (SA) 65,832
9          Andre Iguodala (GS) 64,247
10        Zach LaVine (MIN) 53,642

How Fans Can Vote

NBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through NBA.com, the NBA App (available on Android and iOS), Twitter, Facebook and Google Search, as well as via Sina Weibo and Tencent Microblogs in China.  All current NBA players are available for selection.  

• NBA.com voting page at NBA.com/vote: Fill out one full ballot per day (once every 24 hours) on NBA.com/vote from a desktop or mobile browser.  Fans can select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.  

• NBA App: Access the ballot and vote through the app, which is available on Android and iOS.  Fans can fill out one full ballot per day and select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters. 

• Twitter: Tweet, retweet or reply with an NBA player’s first and last name or Twitter handle, along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE.  Each tweet may include only one player’s name or handle.  Fans may vote for 10 unique players each day throughout the NBA All-Star voting period.

• Facebook: Post the player’s first and last name along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE on your personal Facebook account, or comment on another’s Facebook post.   Each post may include only one player’s name.  Fans may post votes for 10 unique players per day throughout the voting period.

• Google Search: Search “NBA Vote All-Star” or “NBA Vote Team Name” (ex: NBA Vote Celtics) and use respective voting cards to select teams and then players.  Fans may submit votes for 10 unique players per day throughout the voting period. 

The next fan voting update will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 12.  Voting for fans, players and media will conclude on Monday, Jan. 16 at 11:59 p.m. ET.  Starters will be announced live on TNT on Thursday, Jan. 19 during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader.com at 7 p.m. ET, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.  The special will air prior to TNT’s doubleheader showcasing the Washington Wizards at the New York Knicks (8 p.m. ET) and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the LA Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET).  The Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, will be announced the following week on Thursday, Jan. 26.

About NBA All-Star 2017

NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game.  The 66^th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King 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 15^th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 32^nd year of NBA All-Star coverage.  Smoothie King Center will also host the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 17 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 18.  The NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.