Friday 10 January 2020 10:17, UK
LeBron James surpassed Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo to take the lead in fan voting for the 2020 All-Star Game.
In the second fan returns released on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar had 82,001 more votes than Western Conference runner-up Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and 100,488 more votes than the Eastern Conference leader Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
In all, James has nearly 3.4m votes.
A 15-time All-Star, the 35-year-old James is averaging 25.1 points, a league-leading 10.8 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game through 36 games.
The captains for the February 16 showcase in Chicago will be the player from each conference who receives the most fan votes. James and Antetokounmpo were the captains last year.
Fans account for 50 per cent of the vote to determine the 10 starters. All current NBA players and a media panel each account for 25 per cent of the vote, with every voter completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference.
Anthony Davis of the Lakers and Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers trail James in the West frontcourt voting, with the Houston Rockets' James Harden second to Doncic among guards.
In the East, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors follow Antetokounmpo in the frontcourt. The Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets are the top two vote-getters among guards.
Voting for fans, players and media will conclude on Janury 21 at 4:59am (UK time).
The starters and the two team captains will be announced on January 23.
