Tag: NBA All-Star Game

Voters pick Rockets’ James Harden as 2020 All-Star Game starter

Now including 2020, James Harden has been an NBA All-Star in all eight of his seasons in Houston, and he’s set to start for a sixth time.

Houston Rockets guard and league scoring leader James Harden was named Thursday as a starter for the upcoming 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

Five starters — two backcourt, three frontcourt — were announced from both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, as determined by voting from fans (50%), players (25%), and media members (25%).

Among the West players, Harden was selected alongside Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic in the backcourt and a frontcourt comprised of three Los Angeles forwards in LeBron James and Anthony Davis from the Lakers, and Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers.

The top vote-getters in each conference were James from the West and Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in the East. In two weeks, they will each “draft” a team for the game — beginning with four selections each from the pool of other starting players (which includes Harden), and then seven picks each among reserve players.

The All-Star Game reserves, which could include Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, will be announced next Thursday, Jan. 30. The reserves are determined by votes from the league’s coaches.

As for Harden, the 30-year-old has now made the All-Star team in all eight of his seasons with the Rockets, and as a starter in six of them.

In the 2019-20 season, the former MVP and future Hall of Famer is scoring a league-leading 36.6 points per game for the Rockets (27-16). That point total represents highest average by any NBA player in over 30 years. Harden is also in the NBA’s top 10 in assists at 7.4 per game.

With Harden in the starting lineup, the 2020 All-Star Game will take place Sunday, Feb. 16 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

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James Harden maintains voting lead for All-Star Game start

In an updated tally, Rockets guard James Harden is maintaining his big lead in fan votes to be a starter in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

In the second of three weekly updates from the NBA each Thursday, Houston Rockets star James Harden is maintaining his sizable lead in fan votes to be a backcourt starter in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

Harden has been an All-Star in all seven of his completed seasons with the Rockets, and a starter in five of them.

Harden currently ranks second in fan voting among Western Conference guards, trailing only Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic, who hails from Slovenia and brings a significant international voting presence, nearly leads the entire NBA in early voting results.

The fan vote accounts for half of the voting that determines All-Star starters. Players make up 25%, as does a panel of media members.

While votes from the latter two groups are not yet known, it’s hard to imagine Harden not in the top two of West guards by many voters (if any). The 2018 MVP is averaging a league-leading 38.5 points per game, which is the highest total of any player in the last 56 years and the most by a guard ever. He’s also in the NBA’s top 10 in assists at 7.6 per game.

Fellow Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, who is averaging 24.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game, is fifth in the fan voting among Western Conference guards. However, barring an injury to Doncic or Harden, there wouldn’t appear to be a path for Westbrook to start.

However, Westbrook could still make the All-Star Game as a reserve. All 30 NBA coaches are given a ballot with the ability to select three frontcourt players, two backcourt players, and two wild-card picks from each conference. Westbrook has been an All-Star in eight of the last nine seasons, and he was the game’s MVP in 2015 and 2016.

Besides Harden and Westbrook, no other Rockets player is currently in the top 10 of fan voting totals. Fan voting continues through Jan. 20, with a third interim update to come on Jan. 16. The game’s starters will be announced on Jan. 23, and the reserves on Jan. 30.

The player in each conference with the most fan votes will be named a team captain and subsequently draft his own roster for the game. At the moment, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks are on course for that honor.

The 2020 All-Star Game will be held on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

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LeBron James takes overall All-Star voting lead over Luka Doncic

The NBA released the latest returns and the Los Angeles Lakers star is in line to become a captain of the game for the third straight year.

After the early returns indicated a changing of the guard in the All-Star voting, the newest returns released by the NBA on Jan. 9 shows that the love for LeBron James is still as strong as ever.

After trailing both Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetkounmpo in the first voting returns, LeBron is now the leading vote-getter in NBA All-Star voting for 2020. If the results hold at this pace, James will be a captain in the All-Star Game for the third straight season. Although the fan vote accounts for only 50 percent of the All-Star voting results, the two captains will be selected by the player with the highest vote total in each conference.

According to the NBA, James has a lead of over 81,000 over Doncic in the Western Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, increased his lead to become the captain from the Eastern Conference for the second straight seasons.

As for other Lakers, Anthony Davis looks like a lock to start alongside his teammate LeBron as Davis currently had 3.1 million votes, trailing only Doncic and James in the West. Dwight Howard also remains in the top-10 in All-Star votes while the Alex Caruso gag continues to get even funnier, with Caruso moving into sixth place among guards for All-Star votes.

Below are the full top 10 for backcourt and frontcourt for each conference.

Western Conference
Frontcourt   Guards
1.  LeBron James (LAL) 3,359,871 1. Luka Dončić (DAL) 3,277,870
2.  Anthony Davis (LAL) 3,124,446 2. James Harden (HOU) 2,167,269
3. Kawhi Leonard (LAC) 2,210,539 3. Damian Lillard (POR) 687,855
4. Paul George (LAC) 845,719 4. Stephen Curry (GSW) 595,913
5. Nikola Jokić (DEN) 559,881 5. Russell Westbrook (HOU) 581,500
6. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 545,385 6. Alex Caruso (LAL) 528,246
7. Kristaps Porzingis (DAL) 540,603 7. Donovan Mitchell (UTA) 449,835
8. Carmelo Anthony (POR) 520,021 8. Devin Booker (PHX) 381,071
9. Brandon Ingram (NOP) 444,522 9. D’Angelo Russell (GSW) 365,730
10. Dwight Howard (LAL) 390,037 10. Ja Morant (MEM) 257,433
 

Eastern Conference
Frontcourt   Guards
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 3,259,383 1. Trae Young (ATL) 1,389,628
2. Joel Embiid (PHI) 1,784,211 2. Kyrie Irving (BKN) 1,351,997
3. Pascal Siakam (TOR) 1,730,763 3. Kemba Walker (BOS) 1,331,577
4. Jimmy Butler (MIA) 1,400,293 4. Derrick Rose (DET) 918,550
5. Jayson Tatum (BOS) 1,182,663 5. Zach LaVine (CHI) 572,022
6. Tacko Fall (BOS) 543,352 6. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 567,896
7. Bam Adebayo (MIA) 349,078 7. Jaylen Brown (BOS) 544,361
8. Gordon Hayward (BOS) 291,608 8. Ben Simmons (PHI) 456,066
9. Domantas Sabonis (IND) 239,639 9. Bradley Beal (WAS) 447,107
10. Andre Drummond (DET) 228,190 10. Fred VanVleet (TOR) 351,391

 

Oklahoma City shutout in first fan returns for All-Star voting

No Thunder players made the Top-10 in the first fan returns for All-Star Game voting. Fans can vote through Jan. 20.

The first fan returns for the upcoming All-Star Game weren’t exactly promising for the Thunder as there were no players from Oklahoma City in the Top-10 in either the Frontcourt or the Guards.

Plenty of former players that have come through OKC made the list.

Both Russell Westbrook (189,005) and Paul George (280,984) made the Top-5 in their respective position groups. Westbrook is at the No. 5 guard spot in the Western Conference while George landed at No. 4 in the frontcourt.

Other former Thunder players making the list are James Harden (No. 2 Western Conference guards – 749,080), Carmelo Anthony (No. 8 Western Conference frontcourt – 142,292), Alex Caruso (No. 8 Western Conference guards – 92,233), and Domantas Sabonis (No. 10 Eastern Conference frontcourt – 67,482).

Fan votes make up 50% of the vote when it comes to determining the 10 starters for the All-Star Game.

Good news for Oklahoma City, media and player votes make up the other half.

During the voting period, there are five “2-for-1 Days” that allow fans to have their votes counted twice.

The second of those is today, Jan. 3 until 11:59 p.m. ET.

The others are Jan. 10, Jan. 16, and Jan. 20.

Fans can cast their votes at www.vote.NBA.com, the NBA App or through Google.

Voting is open until 11: 59 pm ET on Jan. 20.

We all need to bond together and vote for Tacko Fall for the NBA All-Star Game

Let’s vote for Tacko Fall!

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The first results of the fan votes for the NBA All-Star Game came out on Thursday, which isn’t usually all that noteworthy. The big names are usually all where they are supposed to be, which is the same this year.

But there is one big person near the top of one of the lists and it was quite a surprise. I’m talking, of course, about Boston Celtics rookie Tacko Fall who is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference frontcourt rankings, which is awesome.

The seven-foot-five center has quickly become a cult hero in Boston, with fans often screaming for Brad Stephens to sub in Tacko late in blowouts. Stephens finally relented to the fans a few weeks ago and it was one of the best moments of the young season.

It was also one of only three times he’s seen the court this season, which makes the 110,269 votes he’s received all the more awesome. Tacko has played a total of 11 minutes in three games this season and has just 13 points. The most playing time he’s seen this year has been with the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G-League team, where he’s played in 11 games and averaged  23 minutes a contest.

The only names above Tacko in the frontcourt voting rankings are: 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (1,073,358 votes), 2. Joel Embiid (606,534), 3. Pascal Siakam (544,302), 4. Jimmy Butler (431,483), and 5. Jayson Tatum (364,137). Those are all very big names and guys who have played A LOT more than Tacko has this year.

So why should we rally around and vote for Tacko? Because it would fun, duh. So much in sports can be taken so seriously or negatively and lead to vicious arguments that don’t really need to take place. Pounding the voting button for Tacko (VOTE RIGHT HERE) would give us all a feeling of camaraderie no matter what teams we root for. Let’s try to shake up the NBA a bit and get Tacko in the discussion, just for the ridiculousness of it.

The fan voting only accounts for 50 percent of the votes so we probably wouldn’t end up defeating the NBA and getting our guy in the game, but it would be pretty hilarious to see him end up with more votes than players who deserve it.

Tacko has been a blast all season and seems to be a good human, which makes this all the more worth our efforts. A few weeks ago he put on a tuxedo and conducted the famed Boston Pops orchestra, much to the delight of the people in attendance. Come on!

Let’s do whatever we can to get at least his name in the conversation for the All-Star Game.

Let’s get goofy.

Let’s have some innocent fun.

Let’s vote for Tacko Fall!

Thursday’s biggest winner: Tom Brady.

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The GOAT was told Thursday by a reporter that he has more playoff wins (30) than the other 11 QBs in this year’s playoffs have combined (26). Brady’s answer to that was pretty great. Can he get No. 31 this week against Ryan Tannehill, who’s playing in just his first playoff game?

Quick hits: Happy Thanksgiving… NFL wild-card picks… And more!

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder apparently thought yesterday was Thanksgiving.

Our Stephen Ruiz and Charles Curtis have their wild-card picks against the spread.

Justin Bieber wants to challenge a NHL goalie in a shootout contest, which we’d love to see.

Jalen Rose thinks Zion Williamson should miss all of January, which would stink.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

Fan votes have Rockets’ James Harden in line for All-Star start

Rockets star James Harden ranks second among West guards in 2020 NBA All-Star Game fan voting, while Russell Westbrook is at fifth.

Houston Rockets superstar James Harden is on course to be a starter in the NBA All-Star Game for a fourth consecutive year, according to the league’s initial release of fan voting totals.

Harden has been an All-Star in all seven of his completed seasons with the Rockets, and a starter in five of them.

Harden currently ranks second in fan voting among Western Conference guards, trailing only Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic, who hails from Slovenia and brings a significant international voting presence, leads the entire NBA in early voting results.

The fan vote accounts for half of the voting that determines All-Star starters. Players make up 25%, as does a panel of media members.

While the status of votes from the latter two groups is not yet known, it’s hard to imagine Harden not in the top two of West guards by any of those voting blocks. The 2018 MVP currently averages a league-leading 38.2 points per game, which is the highest total of any player in the last 56 years. He’s also in the NBA’s top 10 in assists at 7.5 per game.

Fellow Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, who is averaging 24.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game, is fifth in the fan voting among Western Conference guards. However, barring an injury to Doncic or Harden, there wouldn’t appear to be a path for Westbrook to start.

However, Westbrook could still make the All-Star Game as a reserve. All 30 NBA coaches are given a ballot with the ability to select three frontcourt players, two backcourt players, and two wild-card picks from each conference. Westbrook has been an All-Star in eight of the last nine seasons, and he was the game’s MVP in 2015 and 2016.

Besides Harden and Westbrook, no other Rockets player is currently in the top 10 of fan voting totals. Fan voting continues through Jan. 20, with updated tallies to be released on Jan. 9 and Jan. 16. The game’s starters will be announced on Jan. 23, and the reserves on Jan. 30.

The 2020 All-Star Game will then be held on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

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