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With fan voting set to close on January 21st, the NBA released another tally of fan votes for the NBA All Star game. Dallas Mavericks super rookie Luka Doncic once again is a lead vote getting, placing third over all behind Lebron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The third returns of #NBAAllStar Voting 2019 presented by @Google!
— 2019 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) January 17, 2019
Vote on https://t.co/R6fBO5LSAS , the NBA App or by searching for your favorite player or team on Google.
Vote now! https://t.co/7WGNCNxnJB pic.twitter.com/FPyWNVEosn
Doncic has received 3,301,825 votes to date, trailing Lebron James for the top spot in the Western Confernce by just under a half million votes. However, Doncic has a clear hold on the second spot in the West, as he’s up on Steph Curry by 400,000 votes, Derrick Rose by 600,000 votes, Paul George by 700,000 votes, and Kevin Durant by 900,000 votes.
The star swing man has played a nearly historic rookie season, posting averages of 20 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. His last five games have been truly spectacular, as he’s averaged 27 points, 7 rebounds, and over 6 assists per contest.
Yet Doncic may be in a tough spot to actually make the final All-Star roster. In terms of the starters, fan vote only counts 50% with players receiving a 25% share of the vote and media members receiving the remaining 25%. Media members in particular will be the hard sell. With so many talented players in the Western Conference putting up solid numbers and the sheer number of teams clumped together in the standings, Doncic may receive zero votes from either group.
I still suspect Doncic makes the final roster, just in a reserve role which NBA coaches vote. He’s been so good it’s hard to deny fans a shot at seeing who they vote for in comparison to more accomplished, but perhaps less heralded stars.