Bucks’ Giannis refuses to budge in Round 2 of NBA All-Star voting

In an Eastern Conference field dominated by guards, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell sit fourth and fifth with 1.75 million and 1.53 million votes.

The Lakers’ Luka Doncic leads the West and all players with over 2.2 million votes.

If All-Star starters were determined by fan voting alone, today the Eastern Conference would trot out a frontcourt of Giannis and Karl Anthony-Towns, also of the Knicks, who has 898K votes. Maxey and Brunson would take the guard spots, with either Boston’s Jaylen Brown (1.51 million votes) or Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson (526K) at the three, depending on size considerations.

In the West, a knee injury to Nikola Jokic (1.99 million) scrambles the results, as it seems unlikely Jokic will return before the All-Star break (certainly the Nuggets would be extremely cautious about Jokic playing an exhibition game).

The starting five in the West would feature Doncic and Steph Curry (1.84 million) in the backcourt; assuming he stays healthy, Victor Wembanyama (769K) would lead the frontcourt alongside LeBron James (1.06 million). Portland’s Deni Avdija (1.22 million) would play small forward.

Playing through groin and calf strains, Giannis is having himself another MVP-type season in limited minutes. In 28.9 minutes per night, the Greek Freak is averaging 29.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 64.3% shooting.

The Bucks are 4-1 since his latest injury return, improving to 16-20 on the season.