NBA All-Star voting begins Thursday, the league announced Wednesday.
Voting begins at noon. Updates will be revealed on Thursdays until Feb. 16, when voting closes at 10:59 p.m. Central Time. Starters will be announced Feb. 18 and reserves on Feb. 25.
The NBA will also give two-for-one voting days, which will be Jan. 30, Feb. 2, Feb. 4, Feb. 13 and Feb. 16, the last of which is the final day of voting.
Fans can vote on NBA.com, the NBA App or on Twitter using the hashtags #NBAAllStar #FirstNameLastName.
Among Oklahoma City Thunder players, guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves consideration. He is posting numbers that are comparable to some of the best players in the league.
Entering Wednesday, the third-year guard was averaging 21.9 points, 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 51.7% from the field and 38.7% from deep.
There are seven players in the league averaging at least 21.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. They are Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, James Harden, Julius Randle and Gilgeous-Alexander.
Five of those guys are All-NBA-caliber players. Randle is very likely to make his first All-Star appearance. Through 16 games, Gilgeous-Alexander has fit in with that crowd, statistically.
Remember that 51.7% field goal clip we mentioned? Gilgeous-Alexander is creating the vast majority of those on his own.
Just over 82% of his made field goals have been unassisted, a number that trails only Doncic (88.3%) and Chris Paul (85.9%) (min. 10 games, 25 minutes per). Gilgeous-Alexander has a higher field goal percentage than either of them.
That has been elevated by his ability to finish at the rim. He’s turning into an elite driver. On average, he goes 4.2-for-6.3 when shooting within five feet from the basket, a clip of 66.3%. That’s fourth-best among guards who are regular starters. It’s better than James Harden (63.3%). It’s better than Ja Morant (63.2%). It’s better than Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons.
In fact, if you only look at his Western Conference competition, there is no guard who finishes at the hoop as well as Gilgeous-Alexander has this season.
The Thunder star isn’t the recipient of great offensive help; he’s attacking his matchups himself and winning them more often than not.
In essence: Gilgeous-Alexander scores well and efficiently. He passes well and rebounds well for a guard. And he’s helped the Thunder continue to surprise, leading them to a 7-9 record.
If he keeps posting these numbers and the Thunder’s winning percentage stays respectable, it’ll come down to competition. He’ll be trying to get votes over guys like Curry, Doncic, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Morant, CJ McCollum, Mike Conley and Jamal Murray. I’m probably forgetting a couple others, and if they’re on your favorite team, I apologize for excluding them.
Gilgeous-Alexander has performed well enough to be in the competition for a spot in the game.
Voting begins Thursday.