As noted last week, six members of the Portland Trail Blazers appear on the 2012 NBA All-Star Ballot for selection for the Western Conference team: Guards Raymond Felton and Wesley Matthews, forwards LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Gerald Wallace, and center Marcus Camby.
The NBA released the first week's worth of returns on Thursday and Aldridge was the only one of the six Blazers to make it on the list of leaders. Aldridge, who is seeking his first All-Star appearance, garnered more than 118,000 votes and placed sixth among Western Conference forwards.
Here's the list of leaders at the Western Conference forward position.
Forwards: Kevin Durant (OKC) 633,538; Blake Griffin (LAC) 394,264; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 231,832; Pau Gasol (LAL) 185,428; Kevin Love (Min) 143,814; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 118,268; Tim Duncan (SA) 81,783; Lamar Odom (Dal) 59,686; Metta World Peace (LAL) 39,006; Danilo Gallinari (Den) 34,438.
Update: Dustin Hawes of Blazers.com transcribed Aldridge's interview with Jim Rome on Thursday. He talked about the All-Star Game and possibly landing a spot on Team USA for the 2012 Olympics.
Rome: "It seems like you and I talk about this every time you come on but you still haven't made that All-Star Game Batman! Is this the year?"
Aldridge: "I thought last year was the year. So if I would have made it last year, I would be like 'definitely I'd be in it this year.' But, I think last year opened my eyes to some things that its not just about your record and things like that. I think its more politics in to it, but you know 'people say I should be in it this year', but after last year I can't be certain."
Rome: "If you're invited to the camp [Team USA], what would that mean to you?"
Aldridge: "A big honor. I definitely want to do some things with them the last three years and they've talked to me about joining the team last time but I had some family issues that I had to handle so this time everything is perfect. It's going to be a really, really big honor to join that team."
Here's the list of current All-Star starters based on the first round of voting...
- West: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Andrew Bynum
- East: Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard
Click through for the rest of the list of leaders at all positions for both conferences.
Voting continues on NBA.com.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Here's the full list of leaders based off the initial returns.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: LeBron James (Mia) 640,789; Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 496,351; Amar'e Stoudemire (NYK) 178,797; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 173,161; Chris Bosh (Mia) 140,601; Paul Pierce (Bos) 94,071; Luol Deng (Chi) 85,086; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 54,739; Carlos Boozer (Chi) 53,477; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 43,154.
Guards: Derrick Rose (Chi) 640,476; Dwyane Wade (Mia) 637,912; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 253,969; Ray Allen (Bos) 174,934; Deron Williams (NJN) 89,128; Jose Calderon (Tor) 42,929; John Wall (Was) 38,025; Richard Hamilton (Chi) 36,418; Kyrie Irving (Cle) 27,713; Joe Johnson (Atl) 23,384.
Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 754,737; Joakim Noah (Chi) 75,038; Tyson Chandler (NYK) 61,774; Joel Anthony (Mia) 41,832; JaVale McGee (Was) 24,713; Al Horford (Atl) 23,546.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Kevin Durant (OKC) 633,538; Blake Griffin (LAC) 394,264; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 231,832; Pau Gasol (LAL) 185,428; Kevin Love (Min) 143,814; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 118,268; Tim Duncan (SA) 81,783; Lamar Odom (Dal) 59,686; Metta World Peace (LAL) 39,006; Danilo Gallinari (Den) 34,438.
Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 690,613; Chris Paul (LAC) 540,173; Ricky Rubio (Min) 133,520; Steve Nash (Pho) 118,922; Russell Westbrook (OKC) 107,197; Kyle Lowry (Hou) 90,725; Monta Ellis (GS) 63,696; Manu Ginobili (SA) 50,765; Jason Kidd (Dal) 49,596; Chauncey Billups (LAC) 42,657.
Centers: Andrew Bynum (LAL) 496,597; DeAndre Jordan (LAC) 134,961; Marc Gasol (Mem) 102,116; Nenê (Den) 94,167; Marcin Gortat (Pho) 62,631; Kendrick Perkins (OKC) 41,579.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter