The top spots in the two frontcourts and two guards are revealed in the NBA All-Star voting based on the popular fan verdict. Lebron James (LAL) and Kevin Durant (BKN) lead in the Western Frontcourt and Eastern Frontcourt, respectively. The top spot for the Western and Eastern guards goes to Stephen Curry (GSW) and Kyrie Irving (BKN), respectively.
Lebron James got the most votes with 3,168,694, narrowly beating Kevin Durant, who got 3,118,545. But they are ahead of the rest by a long shot. In this voting system, the fans have 50% power to influence the ratings, and players and expert panel combined account for 25% influencing power. On January 6, the next “3 for 1 Day” will occur when the fans have triple control over the voting system. And when the next fan vote occurs will be updated on January 12.
So whoever gets the most votes would be the “People’s Choice”. Hence Lebron James is the current People’s Choice at the age of 38.
Now both James and Durant, whoever will get the most votes, will get the lead role for the All-Star teams. The duo has faced each other as two rival captains in the All-Star games. And James ended on the winning side in 2020 and 2021, beating the Eastern outfits led by Durant.
But Are The Lakers Utilizing LeBron James In The Best Possible Way?
Even in the 20th year of his long and illustrious career, LeBron James is giving his all. But still, the Lakers do not have the best season they would expect. Now they are 17-21. Clearly, it is evident that they need to buckle up now. Thankfully, the Lakers still have a chance to qualify for the play-in tournament. They just need to devise a different strategy, perhaps to change their luck a bit.
According to NBA analyst Nick Wright, people should blame the Lakers’ front office for this. This is because they are unwilling to disturb their roster. The analyst said to Fox Sports’ First Things First, “The idea of the Lakers front office is not to use the future first-round picks to build the ‘Lakers 6.0.’ is ridiculous and very disrespectful to the King (LeBron James).”
This way, LBJ is not getting enough support from the rest of the team needed to win a championship. So what is the point of having star players on the team if you don’t know how to use them? Anthony Davis tried his best, too, like LeBron James. But not getting the desired help out of the roster is not getting them anywhere. Wright believes, “If the team management had taken the correct call by using the first-round picks, then everything would have fallen right into place for the Laker. As the other teams Like the Warriors, or for that matter, no team at the top of the conference have the championship pedigree.”
LeBron James has been in fabulous form this season with his 29 points average per game. According to statistics, adding to his 29.0 points average per game, he is averaging 8.2, 6.6, 1.0, and 0.6 rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game, respectively. The four times MVP is shooting 51% from the field, 30.1% from the 3-point range, and 75.2% from the free-throw line.