Kevin Durant, LeBron James headline early All-Star voting
Brooklyn Nets power forward Kevin Durant (7) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers power forward Nicolas Batum (33) during the third quarter at Barclays Center. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers lead their respective conferences in the first round of NBA fan balloting for next month’s NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta.
The game, originally scheduled for this month in Indianapolis, was canceled in November because of COVID-19. But, according to multiple reports, it will be played March 7 after the league and the players union reached a tentative agreement on Thursday to play in Atlanta.
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In All-Star voting that was released Thursday, Durant leads all players with 2,302,705 with James next at 2,288,676. The only other player to receive 2 million votes was Golden State point guard Stephen Curry (2,113,178).
Durant, a 6-foot-10 forward who sat out last season with an Achilles injury, averages 30.8 points, second behind Bradley Beal (34.8) of the Washington Wizards. Durant, a 10-time All-Star, also averages 7.5 points and 5.2 assists.
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James, a 16-time All-Star forward with four NBA titles, averages 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.5 assists for the defending champion Lakers.
Curry, a six-time All-Star, is fifth in scoring at 28.2.
The next fan voting update is Thursday, Feb. 11.
