NBA regular season is in full swing, and the league has officially announced the second phase of fan voting results for the 2025 San Francisco All-Star Weekend. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads with a whopping 2,721,339 votes, securing his position as the top vote-getter for the second consecutive period! In addition to him, 13 other players have received over a million votes: Jokic, Durant, James, Wenyang, Davis, Alexander, Curry, Doncic, Tatum, Towns, Ball, Mitchell, and Lillard. According to the initial voting results, the starting lineups for the East and West are as follows: The West features Jokic + Durant + Lao Jian + Alexander + Curry; while the East has Giannis + Tatum + Towns + Ball + Mitchell.
In the first stage of voting, Giannis from the East surpassed Jokic from the West to become the top vote-getter. Now, Jokic remains the frontrunner for MVP, averaging 31.5 points (1st in the league), 13 rebounds (3rd in the league), and 9.7 assists (2nd in the league). However, Giannis (2,721,339) has further widened the gap with Jokic (2,277,723), gaining nearly half a million more votes. It must be said that the Greek Freak's popularity in the local area is still unparalleled in the league, and even a powerhouse like Jokic may not be able to stop Giannis from winning the All-Star vote again!
Giannis remains firmly at the top of the votes, with no significant changes in the Eastern Conference starting lineup. However, Curry and Wenyang's remarkable rise has quietly changed the Western Conference All-Star starting lineup! Let's start with Curry in the backcourt. In the first round of voting, Curry was only ranked third in the Western Conference backcourt, behind Alexander and Doncic! Over the past period, Doncic has been sidelined due to injury, and Curry seized the opportunity to surpass Doncic, ranking second in the Western Conference backcourt with 1,369,365 votes, just behind Alexander (1,811,050 votes). In the new season, Curry played 30 games, averaging a comprehensive stat line of 22.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 4.4 three-pointers. Curry is undoubtedly talented, but he faces challenges in catching up to Alexander, and he only leads Doncic by over 20,000 votes. Attendance rate and home court advantage are his two advantages in the competition for an All-Star starting spot with Doncic, and he will need to continue working hard if he wants to secure a starting position in the Western Conference All-Star lineup.
Moving on to the frontcourt, Wenyang has made a significant impact. In the first round of voting, Jokic, Durant, and Lao Jian occupied the top three spots, with Davis coming in fourth! Just a week later, Jokic remains stable, James (1,981,529) is closing in on Durant (1,983,680), and Wenyang (1,630,948) has quietly overtaken Davis (1,528,262)! Wenyang leads Davis by 110,000 votes and trails James and Durant by about 180,000 votes, but this does not mean he has no chance of making the starting lineup! In the new season, Wenyang played 32 games, averaging a terrifying stat line of 25.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1 steal, and 4 blocks (1st in the league). Wenyang is a bug on the court and a darling of the NBA league. Considering the Lakers' Lao Jian and the Suns' Durant both have their own challenges, Wenyang has a great chance of making the All-Star starting lineup through coach votes!
Out of 30 teams, only 24 lucky individuals can make it into the All-Star lineup, with many teams having no one selected, but there are also strong teams that can have multiple players selected, such as the Celtics' Tatum & Brown, the Lakers' Lao Jian & Davis, the Knicks' Towns & Brunson, and the Bucks' Giannis & Lillard! However, the biggest winner of this season's All-Star Game is none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers! The latest voting results show that the Cavaliers' Mitchell (1,181,310 votes, 3rd in the Eastern Conference backcourt), Garland (238,358 votes, 9th in the Eastern Conference backcourt), and Little Mobley (294,256 votes, 8th in the Eastern Conference frontcourt) are all on the list! In the new season, the Cavaliers have achieved a record of 33 wins and 4 losses, leading the entire league! As Garland puts it, the Cavaliers should have four players selected for the All-Star lineup (the other being Allen)! What do you think, basketball fans? Leave me a comment to discuss your thoughts.