Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook (4) defends in the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant ahead of LeBron James, leads pack in All-Star voting

LeBron James may be the reigning champ and in the conversation for the greatest player of all time, but he is running behind Kevin Durant when it comes to current All-Star votes. The newest update from the NBA shows Durant (2,302,705 votes) holding a slight lead over LeBron (2,288,676) for the most votes so far. 

Durant's former teammate and two-time MVP Steph Curry (2.11 million) was the only other player to receive more than 2 million votes, proving he remains one of the most beloved and recognizable stars in the NBA. Following Curry for Western Conference guards were Luka Doncic (1.39 million) and Damian Lillard (998,853). In the East, Bradley Beal is the leading vote-getter at guard, followed by Durant's two teammates, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

Back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (1.75 million votes) and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (1.58 million) look to have the East's two remaining starting frontcourt spots locked up, while Nikola Jokic (1.47 million) and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (1.28 million) are ahead of Anthony Davis and Paul George in the West.

Of course, unlike in the NFL, fan voting does not completely decide the All-Star rosters. Fan-voting only counts for 50% of the vote for the starting lineup, with the media and players each getting 25% of the voting power for the starters. Once those five spots have been selected, the coaches get to choose the bench players for each conference.

The starters will be announced on Feb. 18, with the reserves announced on Feb. 23. Both announcements will be made on TNT.

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