2-for-1 days can help OK3 make 2018 NBA All-Star Game

Second returns for 2018 NBA All-Star fan voting were announced with no OKC Thunder players ranking among starters.

Thursday January 11 marked the announcement of the second returns from fans for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. Top ten vote recipients at the guard and frontcourt positions for each conference were updated.

The closest any OKC Thunder player came to making the cut is Russell Westbrook who ranks third among Western Conference guards. Although he’s made up some ground on James Harden he still trails the bearded man by over 187, 000 votes.

Taking over from the original West top vote getter Kevin Durant is teammate Stephen Curry. If voting ended today the top five would be Curry and Harden at the guard spots and Durant, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green in the frontcourt.

Like Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony are in the mix, but both have plenty of votes to make up. George and Anthony rank fifth and seventh respectively on the frontcourt list. To be a verified starter George would have to leap frog DeMarcus Cousins and make up just under 70,000 votes to catch Green.

It’s not completely inconceivable, but if Thunder Nation want to see at least two of the OK3 in the verified list there is work to be done.

Friday January 12 and Monday January 15 are 2-for-1 vote dates:

Notably today is a double count vote day as is Monday the 15th which is also the last day fans can vote. To capitalize on the 2-for-1  vote days there are restrictions. Twitter votes do no count double. Rather, fans must either use the NBA App or vote on NBA.com.  Full details on voting can be found here.

Top Western Conference Vote Recipients:

The following tweet outlines the top ten Western Conference vote recipients on both sides of the court.

Eastern Conference Top Vote Recipients:

In the Eastern Conference, LeBron James surpassed original leader Giannis Antetokounmpo into the captain’s spot. Trailing both forwards by almost half is Joel Embiid who holds a healthy 140,000 lead over Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis.

As for the guards Kyrie Irving is ahead of second place DeMar DeRozan by over 830,000 votes. DeRozan leads third place vote recipient Ben Simmons by almost 140,000 votes. It is still inconceivable to me that Isaiah Thomas who has played less than a handful of games is ahead of both Kyle Lowry and Bradley Beal.

Moreover the prospect of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid both potentially being voted in as starters is wild given the Sixers aren’t even currently seeded as a playoff squad.

Teams with Multiple Stars in Running:

Not surprisingly the most popular teams are the squads who’ve met the past three finals. Boston who has lead the East all season is also in the mix. Each of these squads boast four players in the top 10. For the Warriors Curry, Durant, Green and Klay Thompson rank top ten. The Cavaliers have LeBron James , Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Love. Boston’s four are Kyrie Irving,  Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.

Squads featuring three stars in the top 10:

• OKC Thunder – Westbrook, George, Anthony
• San Antonio Spurs – Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge

Teams with two stars in the top 10 are:

• Houston Rockets – Harden, Chris Paul
• New Orleans Pelicans – Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins
• Minnesota Timberwolves – Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony Towns
• New York Knicks – Kristaps Porzingis, Enes Kanter
• Toronto Raptors – DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry
• Washington Wizards – John Wall, Bradley Beal
• Philadelphia 76ers – Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid
• LA Lakers – Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma

Vote Compilation, Captains and Head Coach Selection:

Fan votes account for 50 percent toward the starting five in both conferences. Making up the other 50 percent are the Media (25%) and NBA players (25%).

As per usual, coaches will select the seven additional players who’ll make up the reserves.

Head Coaches will be determined by the top team in each conference on February 4. The caveat to this is coaches can’t be selected in back to back seasons. For example regardless of where the Boston Celtics rank on February 4, Brad Stevens cannot be selected. This because Stevens served as the East’s Head Coach in the 2017 All-Star Game.

New 2018 NBA All-Star Twist:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Once the final votes are in, the top vote recipients  from each conference will be earmarked to be captains. In a schoolyard type pick-em the captains will select players from the pool of 22 other players. The major difference beyond having captains is no restrictions will apply in terms of of East or West affiliation.

Currently, the selection process to draw the teams is scheduled to be completed privately, but pundits and fans are pulling for it to occur publicly.

In the second returns Stephen Curry and LeBron James were leading having replaced Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Since 50 percent of the vote is yet to be determined it is conceivable the captains could change again before the last votes are counted.

Team Announced:

On Thursday, January 18th the starters will by announced on TNT – Inside the NBA.  Five days later on Tuesday, January 23 the reserves will be announced again via TNT. Finally, the rosters will be announced on Thursday, January 25 on TNT.

The 2018 NBA All-Star weekend occurs in LA this year with events running from Friday February 16 through 18. All teams will then benefit from the All-Star break with every squad getting the rest of the week off.