The NBA launched the primary outcomes from the primary spherical of voting for the All-Star Recreation, with a couple of huge surprises. Listed below are 5 takeaways from the primary spherical of voting.
1. LaMelo Ball is extra standard than you may notice
Ball’s Charlotte Hornets are simply 7-25 and in 14th place within the Jap Convention. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old level guard is main all Jap Convention guards with over 947K votes. That is greater than Steph Curry or Luka Doncic.
Ball averages 30.1 factors per recreation, which might be fourth within the NBA if he’d performed sufficient video games to qualify. He is dishing 7.4 assists and gathering 5.3 rebounds per recreation, however his recognition is probably going as a result of his persona and highlights.
Positive, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson are on significantly better groups, however can they dribble round a complete staff like Ball?
2. Stephen Curry won’t begin the All-Star Recreation at house
The Golden State Warriors are internet hosting the All-Star Recreation in San Francisco, nevertheless the hometown star is barely third within the voting for guards, properly behind chief Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and roughly 60K votes behind Luka Doncic. With Doncic out indefinitely with a calf pressure, Curry may make up floor, however it’s no assure he’ll be beginning.
The brand new All-Star Recreation format virtually ensures Curry will begin the sport. That is as a result of the 24 All-Stars will probably be drafted into three groups by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. Curry won’t be one of many prime two Western Convention guards, however he’ll actually be within the prime 15 of the 24 All-Stars.
3. Worldwide gamers are wildly standard
The 2 main All-Star vote-getters have been born outdoors the US, with Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) main the Jap Convention and Nikola Jokic (Serbia) tops within the Western Convention. The West’s main guard, Gilgeous-Alexander, is from Canada and second-place Doncic is from Slovenia.
The fifth- and sixth-place entrance courtroom gamers within the West, Victor Wembanyama and Alperen Sengun, are from France and Turkey. The seventh- and eighth-place Jap entrance courtroom gamers, Franz Wagner and Joel Embiid, are from Germany and Cameroon. That is eight totally different international locations represented on the prime of All-Star voting. The NBA’s home rankings is likely to be slipping however the recreation is prospering internationally.
4. LeBron James is slipping
We have now totally different requirements for James than each different participant, however it’s nonetheless a shock to see the perennial chief in All-Star votes coming in at third place amongst entrance courtroom gamers. After all, it is wonderful {that a} 40-year-old continues to be on tempo to start out the All-Star Recreation (three entrance courtroom gamers make it). However trailing anybody, even when it is three-time MVP Jokic and Kevin Durant, means James’ voting draw, identical to his recreation, has slipped ever-so-slightly.
5. Followers are being attentive to the Magic. Type of.
The Orlando Magic have flown underneath the radar the previous two seasons. Regardless of ending fifth within the East final season, they have been scheduled for simply 5 nationally-broadcast video games. This yr, Paolo Banchero joins teammate Wagner within the top-seven of the Jap entrance courtroom voting.
Nevertheless, Banchero has performed solely 5 video games this season earlier than struggling an indirect harm. Wagner has been out since Dec. 6 together with his personal indirect points.
All-Star voters are lastly recognizing Orlando’s success; they’re simply not recognizing which Orlando gamers are literally on the courtroom.
