Damian Lillard Lags Behind in First Round of 2018 NBA All-Star Voting Returns

The first round of 2018 NBA All-Star voting returns are in, showing Damian Lillard with the seventh-most votes among Western Conference guards. Remember that, in accordance with a change implemented last season, the fan vote only accounts for 50 percent of the voting when determining starters for the NBA All-Star game. The other 50 percent comes from active NBA players (25 percent) and members of the media (25 percent). Here is how the fan vote has shaken out so far, per NBA.com:

Western Conference

Frontcourt

1. Kevin Durant (GSW) 767,402

2. Anthony Davis (NOP) 393,000

3. DeMarcus Cousins (NOP) 356,340

4. Draymond Green (GSW) 325,612

5. Paul George (OKC) 291,495

6. Kawhi Leonard (SAS) 212,650

7. Carmelo Anthony (OKC) 194,239

8. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 188,240

9. Kyle Kuzma (LAL) 184,338

10. LaMarcus Aldridge (SAS) 153,599

Guards

1. Stephen Curry (GSW) 735,115

2. James Harden (HOU) 602,040

3. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 438,469

4. Klay Thompson (GSW) 359,442

5. Manu Ginobili (SAS) 231,460

6. Chris Paul (HOU) 174,343

7. Damian Lillard (POR) 148,622

8. Lonzo Ball (LAL) 120,817

9. Devin Booker (PHO) 91,562

10. Jimmy Butler (MIN) 88,009

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 863,416

2. LeBron James (CLE) 856,080

3. Joel Embiid (PHI) 433,161

4. Kristaps Porzingis (NYK) 359,459

5. Kevin Love (CLE) 221,969

6. Al Horford (BOS) 120,016

7. Jayson Tatum (BOS) 98,586

8. Andre Drummond (DET) 85,374

9. Enes Kanter (NYK) 83,102

10. Dwight Howard (CHA) 57,730

Guards

1. Kyrie Irving (BOS) 802,834

2. DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 259,368

3. Victor Oladipo (IND) 251,886

4. Ben Simmons (PHI) 210,085

5. John Wall (WAS) 175,990

6. Dwyane Wade (CLE) 165,163

7. Isaiah Thomas (CLE) 87,680

8. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 85,070

9. Bradley Beal (WAS) 71,079

10. Jaylen Brown (BOS) 51,562

As always, the fan voting does not necessarily reflect how much a player does or does not deserve to be selected, based on their merit in the league. Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball was an inevitable inclusion in the top-10 Western Conference guards, given his name recognition, hype machine family, and of course the market size of Los Angeles. It will not carry him to starter status, but it’s enough to complain about if you’re a Devin Booker diehard or simply enjoy the chatter.

Most notably out of place is Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who at 40 years old and about 20 minutes played per game raked in almost 100,000 more votes than Lillard. That’s just how it goes.

Remember, voting is open through January 15, so if you want to support your favorite players, follow the instructions from NBA.com below:

How Fans Can Vote:

NBA.com voting page at NBA.com/vote: Fill out one full ballot per day (per day is defined as once every 24 hours) on NBA.com/vote from a desktop or mobile browser. Fans can select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters. During the five “2-for-1 Days,” (Dec. 31, Jan. 4, Jan 11, Jan. 12 and Jan 15) votes through this channel will be counted twice.

NBA App: Access the ballot and vote through the app, which is available on Android and iOS. Fans can fill out one full ballot per day and select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters. During the five “2-for-1 Days,” votes through this channel will be counted twice.

Facebook: Post the player’s first and last name along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE on your personal Facebook account. Each post may include only one player’s name. Fans may post votes for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

Twitter: Tweet, retweet or reply with an NBA player’s first and last name or Twitter handle, along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE. Each tweet may include only one player’s name or handle. Fans may vote for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25- Jan. 15.

Google Search: Search “NBA Vote All-Star” or “NBA Vote Team Name” and use respective voting cards to select teams and then players. Fans may submit votes for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

Amazon Alexa: To vote via Amazon Alexa, the user must have an Alexa-enabled device, and enable the “NBA All-Star” skill. To submit a vote, the user can open the skill with, “Alexa, open NBA All-Star,” and then request to vote for his or her player of choice. Voters can submit a maximum of one player name per request to Alexa. Users can submit votes for 10 unique players per Amazon account each day from Dec. 25 – Jan 15.

Sina Weibo and Tencent: To vote on Sina Weibo (weibo.com), the user must have a Sina Weibo account. To vote on Sina Weibo, voters must visit China.NBA.com/vote, and select up to 10 players. To vote on Tencent NBA Community, the user must have a QQ account. To vote via Tencent NBA Community, voters must visit China.NBA.com/vote, and select up to 10 players.