The fans trusted the process, but that process was changed by the league.
Philadelphia 76ers rookie sensation Joel Embiid, Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia, and Chicago Bulls shooting guard Dwyane Wade won the fan voting in their respective conferences.
Embiid received 922,174 votes which ranked third among East frontcourt players. Wade had 979,566 votes which was good for second among East guards ahead of DeMar DeRozan. Pachulia earned 1,528,941 votes which was 50 percent more than the total earned by Kawhi Leonard.
Those three would all start the All-Star Game under the previous voting system that was entirely based on fan voting, but the NBA changed to a three-pronged system that incorporated the input of player and media voting.
None of Wade, Pachulia, nor Embiid received much love from the other voting factions so therefore they will not travel to New Orleans for the big game, although Embiid should be there nonetheless for the rookie showcase.
Embiid launched a furious grassroots campaign through his wild social media platforms that evidently caught on with fans. Wade is a future Hall of Famer and tremendously popular. Pachulia, for a second-straight season, received tremendous support from his countrymen of Georgia.
