All-Star vote returns: Steph Curry still leads the guards

Kevin Durant, however, is starting to fall behind.

The second returns of the 2019 NBA All-Star Game fan voting are in, and Steph Curry is still doing very well. Curry’s vote total exceeds 2.09 million, which has him in the lead for Western Conference guards. That said, the Golden State Warriors superstar holds only a narrow lead over a very peculiar name: Derrick Rose.

While Curry is excelling in fan voting, his teammate Kevin Durant is, oddly, falling. Durant is currently fourth in the West frontcourt voting, which puts him just outside of a starting spot.

Fan voting is, of course, odd, which explains how the Warriors DeMarcus Cousins is 10th in the frontcourt (despite not playing a game), Luka Dončić is second in the frontcourt, Dwyane Wade is second among Eastern guards, and Vince Carter and Jeremy Lin have gathered large sums of votes.

As for the other Warriors, Klay Thompson is fifth among guards, and Draymond Green is ninth in the frontcourt.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that LeBron James’ move to the West means that Curry will not repeat as an All-Star captain. That distinction goes to the player in each conference who earns the most fan votes, and James leads in that category by a large share.

Thankfully, fans do not determine the All-Star rosters. Fan voting counts for only 50 percent of the voting for starters, while the media and players each count for 25 percent. When it comes to picking the seven reserves from each conference, the coaches have the only say. So, don’t worry: Rose will not be an All-Star starter (or even an All-Star, in all likelihood), and Durant almost surely will be.

Here are the full list of the top vote getters:

West guards:

1. Steph Curry
2. Derrick Rose
3. James Harden
4. Russell Westbrook
5. Klay Thompson
6. Damian Lillard
7. DeMar DeRozan
8. Lonzo Ball
9. Devin Booker
10. Chris Paul

West frontcourt:

1. LeBron James
2. Luka Dončić
3. Paul George
4. Kevin Durant
5. Anthony Davis
6. Steven Adams
7. Nikola Jokic
8. Kyle Kuzma
9. Draymond Green
10. DeMarcus Cousins

East guards:

1. Kyrie Irving
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Kemba Walker
4. Ben Simmons
5. Victor Oladipo
6. Kyle Lowry
7. Zach LaVine
8. Jeremy Lin
9. Goran Dragic
10. Bradley Beal

East frontcourt:

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Kawhi Leonard
3. Joel Embiid
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Jimmy Butler
6. Blake Griffin
7. Vince Carter
8. Gordon Hayward
9. Pascal Siakam
10. Al Horford

The 2019 All-Star Game takes place on Sunday, February 17 in Charlotte, at 5:00 p.m. PT.