The first fan voting returns have been released for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. Fans will account for 50% of the final vote to determine All-Star starters, while NBA players and a media panel each count 25%.
The two captains, Lakers’ LeBron James and Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, will draft their teams from a pool of players selected as starters and reserves without regard to conference affiliation. Think playground-style drafting, but with all-stars!
The East
The nba all stars results 2023 are in and the East is led by two of the league’s most prolific players: Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets. The team’s stars have been turning in their best seasons in recent memory, and both have a chance to earn MVP honors this season.
The Eastern Conference is a lot like the Western Conference, with a few differences. The top four teams in the East have all beaten out their opponents to claim homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, while the top five in the West have been a bit more difficult to predict. The bottom half of the East is fairly evenly split with seven teams within four games of each other, while the top eight are a solid sliver of the league.
In the All-Star Game, the league determines the starting lineup by 50 percent fan voting, 25 percent media voting and 25 percent player voting. The captains then draft their teams based on the players that earn the most votes in each conference.
There are two close races in the East for starting guards – James Harden (882,065) just edges out Trae Young (862,878 votes) for the second spot. The only other frontcourt starter in the East who isn’t in the top three is Paul George (984,037), who trails Giannis Antetokounmpo by a mere 31,435 votes.
As far as reserves go, the East has a solid group of options, including Jayson Tatum (983,357), Joel Embiid (904,392), Donovan Mitchell (903,325) and Jaylen Brown (925,339). While these are all a decent option, there are some other Eastern players who have also gotten a lot of love from fans this season.
With all of the attention on the All-Star Game, the NBA took a different approach this year when it decided who would be selected to represent the league in the event. They decided to make the All-Star Game a tribute to former New Orleans Hornets star Kobe Bryant, and it’s clear that they’re trying to include as many of his teammates on the roster as possible.
The West
The NBA announced the captains and starters for nba all stars results 2023 on Thursday. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James led all players in fan voting to represent the Western Conference while Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant finished as the leader from the Eastern Conference. The two captains will draft their teams based on which players earn the most fan votes in each conference.
The All-Star Game is the most watched event of the year. It also brings out the best players from the NBA, many of whom will be competing for an All-Star ring. In addition to the main All-Star Game, there are three other events that will be held in Cleveland throughout the weekend.
Before the main All-Star Game, the Rising Stars Challenge will be held. This is a mini tournament that will feature 21 NBA players and seven G League players. The winner of the tournament will advance to the All-Star Game on Saturday night.
This tournament is an opportunity for young players to show their skills and win prizes, but it’s also a way to determine playoff contenders in the NBA. The winners of the tournament will earn a spot in the 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament, which begins after the conclusion of the regular season.
There are some great potential first-timers who landed on the list of All-Star candidates this season, including Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. Both players received more votes than superstars like Fred VanVleet and Darius Garland in the East, and they’ve both been excellent for their respective teams this season.
For the West, the starters will include LeBron James (Lakers), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) and Joel Embiid (Sixers). Other top players on the roster will be Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Los Angeles Clippers forward Luka Doncic.
With the playoffs set to begin in February, teams in each conference will face off to determine a number of crucial tiers in their standings. A win or loss in this final stretch of the season will make a major difference in the playoff picture.
The Final Vote
As the nba all stars results 2023 season nears its end, we’re seeing some final vote results come in. This includes the captains of each conference, which are selected by a weighted vote process (fans carry 50% of the votes, while NBA players and media outlets add 25% each).
James and Durant continue to lead the voting in their respective conferences, with James taking over as the Western Conference captain for the third time in his career. His 7,418,116 total votes were more than two million more than the next closest player, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that the captains aren’t the only players who are deserving of a spot on an All-Star team. While LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been in the top three at their respective positions for a long time, this year’s voting has been much more competitive than last year’s, which saw a number of players rise to the top.
While a lot of these positions are still fairly fluid, the fact that a few players who haven’t played as much this season are suddenly starting to receive a great deal of love is something we should pay attention to moving forward. That’s especially true of two players who are receiving a lot of love despite having played relatively little this year: Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
There are also a few other surprising names in the mix, including Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who is making a huge move up the frontcourt leaderboard after a hot start to the season. He has tallied 1.1 million more votes since the first round of voting was released, and is now just ahead of New York Knicks forward Derrick Rose for the fourth frontcourt position in the Eastern Conference.
Likewise, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has made a big leap up the Western Conference rankings after receiving 206,246 votes. He’s now ahead of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Lakers forward Anthony Davis for the sixth frontcourt spot in the West, and has moved over to fifth among guards.
The Final Score
The Final Score is a new scoring format that has been used in a few recent NBA All Star games. The team with the highest total at the end of three quarters wins. This scoring change is a great way to add a little extra excitement to the game.
There have been four All Stars Games that have decided by a single point, the most recent being the 1965 contest in which the East claimed the title with a score of 124-123. Other single-point victories include the 2001 game in which the East defeated the West by a score of 111-110 and the 1977 game in which the East won 125-124.
For this year’s All Star game, the league is introducing a new scoring format that will see teams play to a final target score of 24 points at the end of the fourth quarter. This change will give both sides a chance to win the game with a big third quarter.
Team LeBron leads the way with a combined score of 143-138. They have several players putting up big numbers, including Giannis Antetokounmpo with 54 points on 21-for-39 shooting and Trae Young and Jayson Tatum averaging 27 points apiece.
The other side of the score is Team Durant with a combined score of 139-138. They have a pair of superstars on their side, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, as well as Devin Booker, who is averaging 29.2 points per game for the Phoenix Suns.
It’s a very good matchup for both teams. We expect both teams to be a lot more aggressive than they have been in previous All Star games, and we also expect to see some great shooting from both sides as well.
There are some great players on both sides, but there is a clear favorite in this matchup for All Star MVP. It is going to come down to Team Durant and Team LeBron.
There is a good chance that both of these teams will come out on top, so the winner of this game could be a huge surprise. Especially if Team Durant pulls it off and hits the magic number of 24. If they do, it would be a great way to wrap up the season.
