NEW YORK—LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets might be headed toward yet another National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game rematch.
James is the overall leader so far in All-Star balloting, and Durant leads all Eastern Conference players in early voting returns—putting them on track to be All-Star captains for the third consecutive year.
James had 3,168,694 votes entering Thursday, topping the list of Western Conference frontcourt players. Denver’s Nikola Jokic is second (2,237,768) and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis is third (2,063,325).
Durant leads Eastern Conference frontcourt players with 3,118,545 votes. That’s just ahead of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,998,327) and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (2,226,712).
Golden State’s Stephen Curry leads all guards in the balloting with 2,715,520 votes. Dallas’ Luka Doncic has the No. 2 spot among West guards with 2,388,502 votes.
Among East guards, Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving leads with 2,071,715 votes, and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell is second with 1,637,374.
The top three frontcourt players and top two guards in each conference will be chosen as starters, with the leading overall vote-getters from each conference serving as captains and choosing their teams.
Fan voting counts for 50 percent of the starters balloting, a media ballot counts for 25 percent and the ballots turned in by NBA players count for the other 25 percent.
James has been a captain in all five previous uses of that process, going 5-0 in All-Star Games. His team beat a Durant-picked team in 2020 and 2021, beat teams picked by Antetokounmpo in 2018 and 2019, and beat a team picked by Curry in 2017.
Voting continues through January 21. The captains and the starters will be announced January 26. Reserves—chosen by NBA coaches—will be revealed February 2, and the game is February 19 in Salt Lake City.
In Lake Charles, Lousiana, McNeese has renamed its basketball court for Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the two-time NBA champion player who scored a record 2,607 points in his four seasons at the school.
Joe Dumars Court was being unveiled Thursday, part of “Joe Dumars Day” at the school.
“Joe is by far the most accomplished basketball player to ever come out of McNeese,” athletic director Heath Schroyer said. “However, Joe is more than just an athlete. He’s a leader, a pioneer, and has accomplished so much in his professional and personal life.”
Dumars scored all of his college points before the 3-point line was established. He was the 18th pick in the 1985 NBA draft, going to the Detroit Pistons. Dumars spent his entire NBA playing career with the Pistons, becoming an All-Star six times and winning two titles.
He went into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and is now the executive vice president and head of basketball operations for the NBA.
“The naming of our court will allow future generations to know and understand the positive example Joe made to so many,” Schroyer said. AP