The second return of NBA All-star voting is underway and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks still leads all voters. Just like in the first returnsNikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets leads all Western Conference voters. The biggest change from last week is Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors passing Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks for second place in the west backcourt. Doncic has been sidelined since injuring his left calf on Christmas Day.
In the East, Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks remain comfortably ahead of every other player in the frontcourt. LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets still leads among East guards, with Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers (who have still lost just four games all season) in second place and Damian Lillard of the Bucks at over 160 000 votes behind him.
In the West, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers are behind Jokic in the frontcourt, and James has almost caught Durant – only about 2,000 votes separate second and third place. Behind them, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs edged out Anthony Davis of the Lakers for fourth place. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still leads all backcourt players regardless of conference, and Curry has about 25,000 more votes than Doncic.
Complete returns:
The 2025 All-Star Game, scheduled for Feb. 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco, won’t actually be a single game. The new format provides for a mini-tournament featuring four teams: three All-Star teams of eight players who will be drafted by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neale, plus the winner of the Rising Stars challenge.
The All-Star selection, however, has not changed. The 10 starters (three frontcourt players and two guards in each conference) will still be determined by fan vote (50%), a panel of players (25%) and a panel of media members (25%). . The coaches will select the reserves.
The third returns will be released on January 16. NBA All-Star voting ends on January 20.
