Not LeBron, nor Curry: two stars lead NBA fan vote for All-Star Game

The early returns from fan voting for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game are in, and once again two of the league’s most electrifying talents are topping the charts.

Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers has surged ahead as the leading vote overall so far, while Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks heads the Eastern Conference leaderboard.

Dončić has collected over 1.24 million votes to sit at the top of the Western Conference. Close behind him are some familiar MVP names, including Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, as well as Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.

On the Eastern side, Antetokounmpo has drawn approximately 1.19 million votes so far, with Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and New York’s Jalen Brunson trailing not far behind. Rounding out the early Eastern top five are Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.

This year’s fan vote serves as only one part of the All-Star selection process. Fan ballots account for half of the decision on the five starters in each conference, while current NBA players and a panel of media professionals make up the remaining 50 per cent of the vote.

The fan voting window opened in mid-December and will remain open untik January 14. The league has also designated select “3-for-1 Days,” where each ballot cast counts triple, a tactic aimed at encouraging even greater participation. The next official voting update is scheduled for January 6.

This season’s All-Star Game promises to be unlike any other, thanks to a major change in format. Instead of the traditional East vs West matchup, the sport’s annual exhibition will split 24 stars into three squads: two representing the United States and one representing the rest of the world. These teams will compete in a round-robin series of four 12-minute games, with the top two advancing to a final championship matchup.

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