The NBA launched the primary outcomes from the primary spherical of voting for the All-Star Sport, with a couple of huge surprises. Listed below are 5 takeaways from the primary spherical of voting.
1. LaMelo Ball is extra in style 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 accumulating 5.3 rebounds per recreation, however his recognition is probably going because of his persona and highlights.
Certain, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson are on a lot better groups, however can they dribble round a complete crew like Ball?
2. Stephen Curry may not begin the All-Star Sport at dwelling
The Golden State Warriors are internet hosting the All-Star Sport in San Francisco, nevertheless the hometown star is just 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 might make up floor, but it surely’s no assure he’ll be beginning.
The brand new All-Star Sport 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 may not 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 in style
The 2 main All-Star vote-getters have been born outdoors the USA, 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 court docket gamers within the West, Victor Wembanyama and Alperen Sengun, are from France and Turkey. The seventh- and eighth-place Jap entrance court docket gamers, Franz Wagner and Joel Embiid, are from Germany and Cameroon. That is eight completely 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 flourishing internationally.
4. LeBron James is slipping
We’ve got completely different requirements for James than each different participant, but it surely’s nonetheless a shock to see the perennial chief in All-Star votes coming in at third place amongst entrance court docket gamers. After all, it is wonderful {that a} 40-year-old remains to be on tempo to start out the All-Star Sport (three entrance court docket gamers make it). However trailing anybody, even when it is three-time MVP Jokic and Kevin Durant, means James’ voting draw, similar to his recreation, has slipped ever-so-slightly.
5. Followers are listening to the Magic. Type of.
The Orlando Magic have flown beneath 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 court docket voting.
Nonetheless, Banchero has performed solely 5 video games this season earlier than struggling an indirect damage. 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 court docket.
