PORTLAND, Ore. — Joel Embiid returned the third-most fan votes for Eastern Conference frontcourt players in the second round of NBA All-Star voting, released Thursday.
Ben Simmons is no longer among the Top 10 vote-getters for Eastern Conference guards. He finished in 10th place when the first fan returns were released on Feb. 4. Tobias Harris, another Sixers All-Star candidate, is not among the conference’s top-10 frontcourt vote-getters for the second straight return.
Los Angeles Lakers forward and four-time league MVP LeBron James is the league’s top vote-getter with 4,362,533 votes, while Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant leads the East in votes at 4,234,433.
Fans account for 50% of the All-Star votes to determine the 10 starters for the NBA All-Star Game, which is expected to be played on March 7 in Atlanta. A selected media panel and current NBA players will each account for 25% of the vote. The voters must pick two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference on their ballets. Voting concludes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.
TNT will reveal the All-Star starters next Thursday, while the reserves will be announced on Feb. 23.
The top three frontcourt and top two backcourt vote-getters in each conference will make up the 10 All-Star starters. The All-Star reserves are selected by the NBA coaches.
The East’s top three frontcourt vote-getters are Durant, followed by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (3,282,478) and Embiid (3,022,105). The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (1,680,780) is a distant fourth.
The Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal (2,528,719), Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving (2,104,130) and James Harden (1,829,504), and Boston’s Jaylen Brown (1,062,888) are the conference’s four leading guards.
