The NBA regular season is flying along and teams are now almost halfway through their schedule. The trade deadline is less than a month away and the All-Star game is right behind it. All-Star weekend will take place from February 14-16th this year, hosted by the Golden State Warriors in the Chase Center.
The All-Star game will have a new format this season with four teams of 8 players competing in a mini-tournament. The teams will be drafted by the Inside the NBA crew on February 6th with the pool of 32 players coming from the 8 winners of the Rising Stars Games on Friday of All-Star Weekend and the 24 NBA All-Stars.
The 24 All-Stars will be determined by a voting system, electing 12 players from each conference. 50% of the formula is made up of fan voting to decide the 5 starters in each conference; two guards, two forwards, and a center.
Voting opened up to fans on December 19th and closes on January 20th. Nikola Jokic has never been a fan favorite considering his success and status, but the fans have never rewarded him with an overwhelming amount of All-Star votes despite his dominance. The Joker has never finished as one of the top 4 in fan voting.
Jokic the leading All-Star vote-getter in Western Conference
But this year, it seems like things may finally be changing as Jokic is getting his proper credit and respect from fans. In the first round of fan votes, he led all players in the West and trailed only Giannis Antetokounmpo for the most votes overall.
And in Thursday’s second update, those results held steady at the top with Jokic holding a healthy lead over Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama for supremacy out West.
Giannis still leads overall and Jayson Tatum is the third leading overall vote-getter. We know that Jokic is now a much better player than the likes of guys like Durant and LeBron, but All-Star voting is often more of a popularity contest than a reflection of who the best players in the league are.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić continue to lead their respective conferences in the second fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 9, 2025
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. Players and a media panel account for 25% each.
Next fan update:… pic.twitter.com/oQvm99AmE5
So, it’s nice to see that Jokic finally seems to be growing on fans worldwide and in the United States. His popularity has grown along with his game and more and more people are recognizing his brilliance and his place in history.
At the end of the day, this matters very little and probably not at all to the Joker, but he deserves to be properly respected. Hopefully, he stays the leading vote-getter in the conference, but either way, he is surely going to be the starting center for the Western Conference in the 2025 All-Star Game.