Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers pause on the court during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on December 25, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP/GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and Golden State Warriors playmaker Stephen Curry are on course to be chosen as conference captains for next month’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles, voting results showed Thursday.
James and Curry lead the latest fan voting which accounts for 50 percent of the ballot to determine the 10 starters for the All-Star Game on February 18 at the Staples Center.
Current NBA players and a panel of basketball media make up the rest of the ballot, each accounting for 25 percent of the voting, which concludes on Monday.
In the second wave of fan returns, James polled 1,622,838 votes to edge ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (1,480,954) in the Eastern Conference and overall.
James and Antetokounmpo are followed in the East frontcourt by the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (784,287) and the New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis (640,928). The Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving is third in the conference and overall with 1,370,643 votes.
In the Western Conference, Curry has amassed 1,369,658 votes, taking him clear of teammate Kevin Durant with 1,326,059. The Houston Rockets’ James Harden has 978,540 votes and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook 791,332.
Under a revamped All-Star Game format, the two captains this year will choose their rosters from the pool of players voted in as starters and reserves.
The players polling the most outright votes in each conference will be selected as captains.