The Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors each have a league-high six players on the NBA All-Star ballot released Friday.
Indiana’s six are guards George Hill and Lance Stephenson and frontcourt players Paul George, Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and David West. Granger has yet to play this season due to injury.
Golden State’s six are guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and frontcourt players Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala and David Lee. Barnes is a sixth man.
There is just one rookie on the ballot, and it’s not Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams. It is Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, who was the preseason choice of many media members for Rookie of the Year but does not start on his own team.
The only teams with three guards are the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers.
Eight teams have five players. More significantly, 13 teams have just three, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a media panel comprised of Greg Anthony of NBA Digital, Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the PBWA, Zach Lowe of Grantland.com and John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune.
Balloting began Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET and ends Jan. 20. Starters for the All-Star Game will be announced Jan. 23 on TNT. You can vote almost anywhere with a keyboard and an internet connection. The details are here.
The 63rd NBA All-Star Game is Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014 on TNT, capping All-Star Weekend in New Orleans.
Here’s the breakdown by team for the East:
SIX: Indiana.
FIVE: Brooklyn, Miami, New York.
FOUR: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, Toronto, Washington.
THREE: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Philadelphia.
ROOKIES: Victor Oladipo, Orlando.
QUESTIONABLE SNUBS: Kyle Korver, Atlanta; Jameer Nelson, Orlando; Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia.
QUESTIONABLE CHOICES: Rajon Rondo, Boston; Andrew Bynum, Cleveland; Danny Granger, Indiana; Amar’e Stoudemire, New York; Tobias Harris, Orlando.
EAST BACKCOURT (24): Jeff Teague, Atlanta; Rajon Rondo, Boston; Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, Brooklyn; Gerald Henderson, and Kemba Walker, Charlotte; Derrick Rose, Chicago; Kyrie Irving, Cleveland; Brandon Jennings, Detroit; Lance Stephenson and George Hill, Indiana; Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade, Miami; O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee; J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton, New York; Arron Afflalo and Victor Oladipo, Orlando; Evan Turner, Philadelphia; DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, Toronto; Bradley Beal and John Wall, Washington.
EAST FRONTCOURT (36): Al Horford and Paul Millsap, Atlanta; Jeff Green and Gerald Wallace, Boston; Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez and Paul Pierce, Brooklyn; Al Jefferson, Charlotte; Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, Chicago; Andrew Bynum, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao, Cleveland; Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith, Detroit; Paul George, Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and David West, Indiana; Chris Bosh and LeBron James, Miami Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders, Milwaukee; Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire, New York; Tobias Harris, and Nikola Vucevic, Orlando; Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia; Rudy Gay and Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto; Marcin Gortat and Nene, Washington.
Here’s the breakdown by team for the West:
SIX: Golden State.
FIVE: Denver, Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans, San Antonio.
FOUR: LA Clippers.
THREE: Dallas, LA Lakers, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Utah.
ROOKIES: None.
QUESTIONABLE SNUBS: Jose Calderon, Dallas; Wilson Chandler, Denver; Wesley Matthews, Portland.
QUESTIONABLE CHOICES: Danilo Gallinari, Denver; Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers; Derrick Williams, Minnesota.
WEST BACKCOURT (24): Monta Ellis, Dallas; Ty Lawson, Denver; Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Golden State; James Harden and Jeremy Lin, Houston; Jamal Crawford, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, LA Clippers; Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, LA Lakers; Mike Conley, Memphis; Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio, Minnesota; Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday, New Orleans; Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City; Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic, Phoenix; Damian Lillard, Portland; Isaiah Thomas and Greivis Vasquez, Sacramento; Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, San Antonio.
WEST FRONTCOURT (36): Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas; Wilson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari, Denver; Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala and David Lee, Golden State; Omer Asik, Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons, Houston; Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, LA Clippers; Pau Gasol, LA Lakers; Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, Memphis; Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Derrick Williams, Minnesota; Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans, New Orleans; Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City; Markieff Morris, Phoenix; LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, Portland; DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento; Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter, San Antonio; Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter, Utah.
I think every true NBA fan will not select a second guard in the east and write in MCW…
Choose ONE W (wade,wall,williams) and write in MCW!
How did they determine who is on this media panel that selected the 120 players? Mary Schmitt Boyer is undoubtedly one of the most clueless sportswriters/beat writers out there. If they’re going to let her pick ’em, than why not just get Larry, Curly and Moe, because Schmitt Boyer is Shemp. Her stuff that makes it into print is eye-rollingly terrible, she doesn’t know the stats or the skills of the players on the other 29 teams, she does not understand the nuances of basketball, and she is manipulated time and time and time again by the NBA franchise she’s in bed with.