Kawhi Leonard, Paul George among top vote-getters in first All-Star returns
LA Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were among the Western Conference’s top vote-getters in the first All-Star returns.
It’s been a while since the LA Clippers have had a player in the All-Star Game — DeAndre Jordan was the last to do so during the 2016-2017 season. It’s been even longer since the Clippers have had a starter on an All-Star squad — that hasn’t happened since Blake Griffin made the cut during the 2014-2015 season.
This year, the Clippers are on track to have two players make the roster, as Kawhi Leonard (741K votes) and Paul George (281K votes) are both among the top vote-getters in the Western Conference.
The only other players in the West that have more votes than Leonard and George are Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and James Harden.
Leonard and George are right around the spots they deserve. Leonard is averaging 25.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game on 45.4 percent shooting, while George is at 23.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists with a 42.2 percent clip.
Keep in mind that this is just the fan vote, which only accounts for 50 percent of the vote that determines the 10 starters in the All-Star Game. The other half is determined by the media and the players. So while there are some bone-headed inclusions that cracked the list (namely Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Stephen Curry and Alex Caruso), the real stars will be the ones that get in.
As it stands, the Western Conference starters would be:
- G: Luka Doncic
- G: James Harden
- F: Kawhi Leonard
- F: LeBron James
- F: Anthony Davis
Those players won’t necessarily be representing the Western Conference, though. Teams are selected via a draft pool of qualifying players by the team captain, who is the top vote-getter in each conference. Currently, those players are Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Clippers fans shouldn’t worry about George not being included with the starters. Even though he probably won’t find his way into that group, the league’s coaches are the ones that vote on the reserves, and he’ll surely get voted in that way.
Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are completely absent from the list, but there’s a chance they could each make it into the game for the first time with the help of the coaches.
If you haven’t voted yet, you have until January 20 to make your picks! Fans can vote at NBA.com once every 24 hours, on the NBA app, and on Google via Google.com or any smart device with Google Assistant.
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Get picking, LA Clippers fans! Kawhi Leonard is set to be a starter for now, but we’ll need to keep up with the vote to ensure that as many Clippers get in as possible.