Kevin Love is more popular than Dwight Howard … but just barely.
In one of the closest votes in the history of All-Star balloting, Love edged out Howard for the third frontcourt spot on the Western Conference team. Love received 661,246 votes, while Howard received 653,318.
The starters for the West are Love, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin in the frontcourt, and Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant in the backcourt. If Bryant is unable to play because of his knee injury, the Western Conference coach — who has not yet been determined — will select his replacement.
The starters for the East are LeBron James, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony in the frontcourt, and LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the backcourt. They will be coached by Frank Vogel of the Indiana Pacers.
Here are the final vote tallies. The NBA’s 30 head coaches will select the seven reserves for each team.
Eastern Conference
Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (Mia) 1,416,419
2. Paul George (Ind) 1,211,318
3. Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 935,702
4. Roy Hibbert (Ind) 524,809
5. Chris Bosh (Mia) 406,867
6. Kevin Garnett (Bkn) 209,398
7. Joakim Noah (Chi) 181,145
8. Andre Drummond (Det) 163,798
9. Tyson Chandler (NYK) 137,512
10. Luol Deng (Cle) 121,754
11. Jeff Green (Bos) 121,040
12. Carlos Boozer (Chi) 103,502
13. David West (Ind) 95,363
14. Paul Pierce (Bkn) 95,034
15. Josh Smith (Det) 75,433
Backcourt
1. Dwyane Wade (Mia) 929,542
2. Kyrie Irving (Cle) 860,221
3. John Wall (Was) 393,129
4. Derrick Rose (Chi) 359,546
5. Ray Allen (Mia) 250,909
6. Rajon Rondo (Bos) 174,654
7. Lance Stephenson (Ind) 148,382
8. DeMar DeRozan (Tor) 131,228
9. George Hill (Ind) 129,533
10. Deron Williams (Bkn) 126,423
Western Conference
Frontcourt
1. Kevin Durant (OKC) 1,396,294
2. Blake Griffin (LAC) 688,466
3. Kevin Love (Min) 661,246
4. Dwight Howard (Hou) 653,318
5. LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 609,172
6. Tim Duncan (SA) 492,657
7. Anthony Davis (NO) 286,247
8. Andre Iguodala (GS) 266,611
9. DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) 255,005
10. Pau Gasol (LAL) 247,323
11. David Lee (GS) 232,210
12. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 201,873
13. Chandler Parsons (Hou) 174,512
14. Omer Asik (Hou) 130,344
15. Andrew Bogut (GS) 127,947
Backcourt
1. Stephen Curry (GS) 1,047,281
2. Kobe Bryant (LAL) 988,884
3. Chris Paul (LAC) 804,309
4. Jeremy Lin (Hou) 628,818
5. James Harden (Hou) 470,381
6. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 317,338
7. Damian Lillard (Por) 280,966
8. Tony Parker (SA) 258,751
9. Klay Thompson (GS) 162,984
10. Ricky Rubio (Min) 124,230
I read that Kobe won’t play. The fan voting has become a Joke of a popularity contest.
They should change the rules by continuing to allow fans to vote for 5 players per conference, but the coaches should decide who starts. Too much publicity/status is given to starters picked by fans. The coaches should restore some sanity and put Wall and DeRozan over Irving and DWade. Hibbert should be starting Center and Melo coming off bench.
In West, it should be Howard, Love & Durant with Curry and Harden (assuming Paul isn’t back).