2021 NBA All-Star Game starters were announced on Thursday evening, and fan voting resulted in a controversial result in the Western Conference backcourt.
Portland Trail Blazers star, who is third in the league in scoring and has his team at 18-10 and in playoff position despite injuries to CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, was tapped by his peers and NBA media to earn a starting spot – but the fan vote gave Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic a starting spot alongside Steph Curry.
Fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the vote to determine the All-Star starting lineup, and Doncic had the second-highest vote total among Western Conference guards behind Curry. Current NBA players and select NBA media each receive 25 percent of the vote and picked Lillard over Doncic, but the fan vote made the difference.
Luka Doncic getting the start because of the fan vote. Media and players had Dame Lillard No. 2; players and media had Doncic third. But vote is weighted and fans decide tiebreaker. Fans had Doncic No. 2.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) February 19, 2021
Here are the rest of the 2021 All-Star Game starters:
Eastern Conference: Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant (captain), Joel Embiid
Western Conference: Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, LeBron James (captain), Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic
NBA fans and analysts showed love to Lillard on Twitter after the starting lineups were announced.