Two of the league’s best big men emerged as early frontrunners for the 2025 All-Star Game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic led the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively in the first wave of fan returns for the annual mid-season spectacle next month.
The Milwaukee Bucks star garnered 1,710,630 votes to top the initial results while the Denver Nuggets big man placed second with 1,422,121.
Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 2, 2025
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
Next fan update: 1/9.
Joining Jokic and Antetokounmpo as top vote-getters at their respective positions are Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1,053,683) and the Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball (947,444).
Interestingly enough, SGA is the only guard in either conference to have earned over 1,000,000 votes.
Reigning champion Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics got 1,385,851 votes, followed by two-time champion Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns (1,268,799 votes), and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in LeBron James (1,167,661 votes) rounded out the top five.
A “3-for-1 Day,” set for tomorrow, will feature each fan vote counted as three times its value with the fan voting ending on January 20. The All-Star Game starters are set to be revealed on January 23 while the reserves are on January 30.
The fan votes are weighted 50% in determining who will be the All-Star starters while 25% each will be given to current players and media members respectively.
The 2025 All-Star Weekend will be held on February 14-16 at San Francisco, California with a new format being implemented for the All-Star itself.
Instead of the traditional East vs. West, a mini-tournament will feature four teams who will battle in a knockout round composed of three games.
The 24 players selected will be divided up into three teams of eight players each, with NBA legends in Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith serving as the general manager of the squads who will pick their respective rosters.
Those three teams, alongside the winner Rising Star Challenge, will then enter into a four-team tournament with games to 40.
The NBA and NBPA announced today a new format for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in the San Francisco Bay Area.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 17, 2024
In addition, NBA All-Star Voting presented by AT&T will tip off on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. ET.
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