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With the NBA All-Star 2021 game still set to go ahead despite no formal announcement, speculation is growing as to who the conference's starters will be. Voting ended on Tuesday night, with TNT declaring the starters on Thursday, as chosen by fans.
In this article, we will take a look at who the likely starters will be for the NBA All-Star 2021 game, taking into account the most recent voting count as of February 11th. As you can imagine, a certain LA Lakers star leads the way.
Western Conference - NBA All-Star 2021 Starters
LeBron James leads the Western Conference NBA All-Star 2021 voting charts yet again and is likely to be the side's captain when the announcements are made on Thursday night. As of the last vote count, James had 4,369,533 votes in what has been an MVP-calibre season so far for the veteran. LeBron is continuing to add additional qualities to his game, shooting a career-high number of 3-point attempts and draining 37.8% of them.
Fellow prolific sharpshooter and one of the league's greatest of all time, Steph Curry, leads the West's guards with over 4m votes. With Curry and Green leading the side, the Warriors have fought their way up to 8th in the West and will continue to cause a lot of teams problems while the two veterans are fit.
Curry is averaging the same amount of points (30.1) as the year he won MVP unanimously and is shooting at a higher rate from the free-throw line (93.3%). His performances and the subsequent voting make him a sure-shot candidate for the West NBA All-Star 2021 lineup.
Nikola Jokic has a strong claim to becoming MVP as well, currently averaging career-high numbers across the board and has held the Nuggets up this season while his teammates have struggled to get going.
A bit further behind in the frontcourt voting is Kawhi Leonard who holds a slim lead over Anthony Davis, though the latter will likely still be sidelined by the time the NBA All-Star 2021 game comes around.
While Damian Lillard has a stronger claim to the 2nd backcourt slot given the Portland Trail Blazers' far superior record, Luka Doncic led the voting by 400,000 ballots as of the 11th of February announcement. Both guards are having stellar seasons with their numbers very close thus far, though it is more probable that Doncic just about takes the slot given the Slovenian's popularity among NBA fans.
Eastern Confrence - NBA All-Star 2021 Starters
Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo were runaway leaders for the NBA All-Star 2021 Eastern frontcourt as of the last voting update, so we can almost be certain they will all start.
Durant has returned to his best having overcome his absence from the league and is pouring in points for the Brooklyn Nets. KD is averaging his highest points per game since his MVP season and is shooting a career-high 43.4% from downtown, making him a shoo-in for the NBA All-Star 2021 East team.
His closest rival in the voting and indeed in the East currently is Joel Embiid. The Cameroonian center has been pivotal in the Philadelphia 76ers conference-leading start to the season with the 26-year old vastly improving his output.
Sitting 2 wins behind the 76ers are Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks who have yet to fully hit the heights of previous campaigns. Still, the "Greek Freak" is a monster on both ends of the floor, averaging 28.2 points along with 1.3 blocks and steals.
In the East backcourt for the NBA All-Star 2021 event will most definitely be Bradley Beal and one of Brooklyn's other two stars. Beal is currently averaging a monster career-high and league-high 33.1 points and is doing his best to prop up a struggling Washington Wizards side.
Nets guards Kyrie Irving and James Harden will have to compete for the final spot with each worthy of a starting place in the NBA All-Star 2021 game. Harden leads the league in assists this season, averaging 11.8 per game with his new side. Meanwhile Irving has been averaging more points and has the wow factor on offense that fans love, which may just have edged it for him in the voting.
Guess the Lakers players!
