This season, it seems, has been especially wild for the NBA. We’re not even out of the first week of January yet, and we’ve had several All-Time historical performances that include a 60-20-10 game from Luka Doncic and a 71-point masterpiece from Donovan Mitchell.
But in the first returns of All-Star fan voting this year, neither Luka nor Mitchell were the top vote-getters in their respective conferences.
Instead, familiar names and experienced veterans were at the top of the list: the Lakers’ LeBron James and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets. Other vote leaders were Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving.
Lakers’ LeBron James and Nets’ Kevin Durant lead the NBA’s first 2022-23 All-Star fan voting returns: pic.twitter.com/ObI4WQjnuH
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 5, 2023
The voting is far from over, but already some fans have taken issue with the voting trends so far. Firstly, many have called attention to guys like Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney, who haven’t really earned the number of votes they are getting (especially since the Warriors are just a single game above .500).
Which NBA Player Is Most Likely To Make Their All-Star Debut?
Every year, we usually have one or two players who make the All-Star roster for the first time, and that should hold up this season as well. The question is, who will it be?
In a previous article, we picked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the most likely first-time All-Star, and that pick is looking pretty solid. While he’s just 4th amongst guards in the West, it’s pretty clear that SGA will make it into the game, if not as a starter, then as a reserve.
If there is one player making the All-Star ballot incredibly interesting this season, it is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In the Western Conference, you have the obvious choices of Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, and Ja Morant who are pretty much-guaranteed spots in the All-Star game this year. This leaves 3 potential spots for Gilgeous-Alexander, the best Canadian-born player in the NBA, to get in and the way he is playing, he undoubtedly has a spot saved for him.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that this isn’t the final list. With still weeks to go before the votes stop being counted, the All-Star picture could change on a whim.
For now, though, we have a pretty good sense of who will be starting, and it’s hard to make a case against any of them.
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