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After sitting at fourth in total votes following the first returns, LeBron James leapfrogged into second in overall votes behind only Steph Curry in the latest returns.
Notably, James closed the gap between himself and Curry from over 500,000 votes to less than 80,000 votes. In doing so, James surpassed Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo — both in the Eastern Conference — in total votes as well.
Stephen Curry (West guards), Kevin Durant (East frontcourt), DeMar DeRozan (East guards) and LeBron James (West frontcourt) continue to be the top vote-getters at their respective position groups in the second fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting presented by Tissot. pic.twitter.com/dAaVBHrXi5
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 13, 2022
Since the implementation of the draft format with captains based on the player with the highest vote total in each conference, James has served as one of the captains. After that looked to be under some threat following the first voting returns, James looks to be set for a race with Curry both to be named Western Conference captain and the leading vote-getter.
Elsewhere for the Lakers, Anthony Davis moved up one spot from sixth to fifth in the Western Conference frontcourt by surpassing Draymond Green. Likewise, Carmelo Anthony passed Karl-Anthony Towns to move up into seventh in fan voting.
In the backcourt, jumped three places from ninth to sixth in voting, passing Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard in the process.
The All-Star Game is set to take place on Feb. 20 in Cleveland. Voting ends on Jan. 22, with the starters announced on Jan. 27 and the reserves on Feb. 3. The date for the draft has not yet been set.
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