The NBA All-Star weekend is approaching soon, along with it, the list of the All-Stars. A few days ago, the NBA released the first count of the All-Star voting. The NBA on TNT crew discussed the same, where Shaquille O’Neal had a few things to say.
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As expected, LeBron James led the list, receiving the most votes among all players.
Kevin Durant led the voting in the East. Among the guards, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving led their conferences, respectively. The All-Star starters are selected based on the votes. Earlier, fans could vote through Twitter and Google as well. However, after what happened last year, NBA changed its rules, and now the voting can only happen through their website.
Also Read: How Andrew Wiggins Hilariously Forced the NBA to Rethink Voting Privileges Given to Social Media
Shaquille O’Neal picked Joel Embiid over Jayson Tatum
This year has been excellent for the league. There have been a lot of players who have been performing exceptionally. While discussing their All-Star starters, the TNT crew had a debate over their third man from the Eastern Front Court. Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo were a lock, but they couldn’t decide on the third.
While deciding between Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum, each of the four gave their views. Shaq had talked about how Tatum was an MVP candidate this year. However, while deciding between him and Embiid, O’Neal went Embiid’s way.
“Because of the land of the law, and he has more votes, I’m going with Joel Embiid.”
Jayson Tatum has been playing at a high level. He’s been averaging 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists this season and is the reason the Celtics have the best record in the NBA(28-12).
On the other hand, Joel Embiid is playing at an MVP level for the 3rd straight season. He’s averaging 33.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists a game. Despite struggling with injuries, the Sixers have the 5th best record in the East(23-15).
When will the All-Star starters be announced?
The All-Star voting is a fun way for the fans to feel included in the process of celebrating the season. The voting began on December 20th, 11 AM ET, and will go on till January 21st, 11:59 PM ET. Throughout the process, there are six days when the votes will have triple the value.
- Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022
- Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023
- Friday, Jan. 6, 2023
- Friday, Jan. 13, 2023
- Monday, Jan. 16, 2023
- Friday, Jan. 20, 2023
For selecting the starters, fan votes would hold 50% and the rest 50% would be split between a pool of current players and media. The starters would be annouced on January 26th. The reserves would be annouced on February 2nd.
