NBA All-Star voting opens Thursday, without any final determination yet if there will be an actual All-Star Game this season.
The league said Wednesday that “discussions surrounding a potential NBA All-Star Game are ongoing.” The Associated Press reported Monday that there have been talks about having an All-Star Game that would benefit historically Black institutions and COVID-19 relief, though no plan has been finalized.
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But the league also wants players worthy of being named All-Stars this season to get their due, whether the game is played or not. Voting opens at noon Eastern on Thursday and will run through 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 16.
“Naming NBA All-Stars is an annual tradition that honors an exclusive group of players for extraordinary performances during the season,” Byron Spruell, the NBA’s President of League Operations, said in a statement released to AP. “We look forward to recognizing the best of the best this season.”
The process will be the same as in recent years: All-Star starters will be selected in a formula that is 50% based on fan voting, 25% based on the votes of a media panel, and 25% based on votes from NBA players. Fans can vote in a variety of methods, including the NBA app, NBA.com and on Twitter.
There will be three frontcourt and two guards selected from each conference as starters.
The All-Star starters will be announced on Feb. 18. The All-Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, will be revealed on Feb. 23.
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Many decisions about the game itself, if it happens, still need to be finalized. Atlanta has been mentioned as a location. It’s also unknown if the game would have the same format as a year ago, when the NBA changed the rules to make the game much more competitive.
Last year in Chicago, Anthony Davis made a game-ending free throw to give Team LeBron a 157-155 win over Team Giannis in the revamped NBA All-Star Game, the format overhauled to put in elements for charity and ensure that someone was going to hit a shot to end the game. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the captains as leading vote getters.
