LeBron overtakes Durant for top overall spot in fan All-Star vote
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has now received nearly 4.4 million All-Star votes from fans, moving him past Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant as the top overall vote-getter in the second returns released Thursday.
Durant has registered just over 4.2 million votes as he and LeBron repeated as the leading candidates in each conference. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry received the most votes of any guard in the league, while Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal led the position in the Eastern Conference.
The latest All-Star voting returns are out: pic.twitter.com/ryXDRq6iS2
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2021
The rankings for frontcourt players in both conferences were unchanged from the first returns released last week. However, there were some notable differences in guard voting.
In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fell out of the top 10 and was replaced by Los Angeles Lakers reserve Alex Caruso. Klay Thompson, who is unlikely to play at all this season due to a torn Achilles, moved up from No. 10 to No. 8.
The top nine guard spots in the East remained consistent. Toronto Raptors ball-handler Fred VanVleet replaced Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons at No. 10.
Fan voting will run through Feb. 16 and accounts for 50% of the overall vote. Players (25%) and media (25%) will also contribute their own votes.
The 2021 All-Star Game is expected to be held March 7 in Atlanta following an agreement between the league and players' union earlier this month.